BACKGROUND Umbilical venous catheters are often used in unwell neonates. Infection related to the use of these catheters may cause significant morbidity and mortality. The use of prophylactic antibiotics has been advocated for newborns with umbilical venous catheters in order to reduce the risk of colonisation and acquired infection. Countering this is the possibility that harm may outweigh ben...

Exchange transfusion in small infants carries a mortality of 4-7 5% (Van Praagh, 1961; Boggs and Westphal, 1960). Many factors such as hypocalcaemia, circulatory overloading, hyperkalaemia, acidosis, citrate toxicity may be responsible, and the mode of death, whatever the aetiology, is usually thought to be acute cardiac failure (O'Neill and Gordon, 1959; Robinson and Barrie, 1963), and commonl...

Central venous access is an important aspect of neonatal intensive care management. Malpositioned central catheters have been reported to induce cardiac tachyarrhythmia in adult populations and there are case reports within the neonatal population. We present a case of a preterm neonate with a preexisting umbilical venous catheter (UVC), who then developed a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). ...

Bard, H., Albert, G., Teasdale, F., Doray, B., and Martineau, B. (1973). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 48, 630. Prophylactic antibiotics in chronic umbilical artery catheterization in respiratory distress syndrome. The use of prophylactic antibiotics with indwelling umbilical artery catheters under continuous perfusion in 75 high risk newborns with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was ev...

Bard, H., Albert, G., Teasdale, F., Doray, B., and Martineau, B. (1973). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 48, 630. Prophylactic antibiotics in chronic umbilical artery catheterization in respiratory distress syndrome. The use of prophylactic antibiotics with indwelling umbilical artery catheters under continuous perfusion in 75 high risk newborns with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was ev...

Over a period of 30 months, umbilical artery catheters were inserted in 229 infants. The main complications were haemorrhage, infection, and obstruction of a blood vessel. The incidence of infection was not affected by the use of prophylactic antibiotics. Vascular obstruction was more common in small infants, and in those in whom a catheter was reintroduced in the same blood vessel.