Objective: Nowadays, the neonatal mortality rate which is a national health problem can be reduced, especially in premature infants, thanks to improved patient care and appropriate treatments. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality rate and causes of mortality in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during the last five years. Method: Newborns lost between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018 in the NICU of İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital were included in the study. Demographic data, duration of hospital stay, prenatal risk factors, mode of delivery, presence of congenital anomaly, causes of mortality and mortality rate were determined. Results: The records of 4155 infants hospitalized between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018 were investigated and a total of 382 neonates who were lost during their stay in the NICU were included in the study. With these results, the five-year mortality rate in our neonatal intensive care unit was calculated as 9.1%. The average duration of hospitalization was 24.5 days (1-384). While prematurity / RDS was the most common cause of neonatal death, the other most common causes were sepsis/multiorgan failure, genetic causes and congenital heart diseases. Conclusion: Although the neonatal mortality rate is reduced with the improvement of perinatal-antenatal care besides technological improvements, health policy regulations are needed to decrease the neonatal mortality rate due to the increasing number of infants requiring major surgery.
The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D supplementation and risk factors for non-supplemented infants in Izmir, Turkey.This cross-sectional study was carried out in Well-Child Care Clinics in Izmir, Turkey. Parents filled a questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics and the use of vitamin D. SPSS version 16.0 was used for statistical analysis.A total of 1002 children (aged 1 to 24 months) were enrolled in the study. The supplementation rates of vitamin D were 77% in the first 3 months of life, 57% at 10 to 12 months. Economic status of family, education of parents, occupational status of mothers and parity were associated factors with the use of vitamin D supplements in infants (P<0.05). However, when the data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis, only education of mother seems to be statistically significant independent variable in decreasing non-supplementation/ irregular supplementation.Vitamin D supplementation rates seem to be not satisfactory in Izmir. Therefore, the importance of vitamin D supplementation in infants should be emphasized in every well-child care visit to prevent vitamin D deficiency.
To examine the vitamin D status of 4-month-old exclusively breastfed infants supplemented with 400 IU daily of vitamin D and to determine whether there was any seasonal variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels of infants.In this cross-sectional study, serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, and 25(OH)D levels of 143 exclusively breastfed 4-month-old infants supplemented daily with 400 IU of vitamin D were measured in a temperate latitude, Izmir, Turkey, between May 2008 and April 2009. A questionnaire on demographic characteristics of infants and mothers, vitamin D supplementation of infants after birth, mothers' multivitamin supplementation, dressing habits, and consumption of dairy products during pregnancy was used.Vitamin D deficiency (≤ 50 nmol/L) and insufficiency (51-74 nmol/L) were determined in 40 (28%) and 55 (38.5%) infants, respectively. During winter days, serum 25(OH)D levels were <20 ng/mL in 45.4% of infants and <10 ng/mL in 10.6% of infants. Season of blood sampling, compliance of vitamin D supplementation, maternal education level, and consumption of dairy products were highly predictive of serum 25(OH)D levels in multiple linear regression analysis (P < .05). The use of the Pearson correlation test found a statistically significant negative correlation between 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone levels (r = -0.419, P < .001).Despite supplementation with 400 IU of vitamin D daily, the rate of vitamin D deficiency was worryingly high in 4-month-old exclusively breastfed infants living in Izmir, Turkey. So, additional studies are needed to clarify optimal amount of vitamin D supplementation to the infants, especially during winter days.
To determine the effect of unsynchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation compared to continuous positive airway pressure in preterm infants after extubation.A total of 67 premature infants who were <35 weeks gestation and/or <2000 g birth weight and received mechanical ventilation because of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were studied. Infants were randomized to receive either unsynchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) with shortened endotracheal tube (Group 1) or nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) with binasal prongs (Group 2) after extubation. Extubation failure and neonatal outcomes were recorded in each group.There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups. The prevalence of re-intubation and post-extubation atelectasis were higher in CPAP group (p = 0.03 and p = 0.01). No differences were observed in the prevalence of IVH, ROP, PDA, NEC, sepsis, pneumothorax, BPD and BPD/death between the groups while the mortality was higher in NCPAP group (p < 0.01). Neither procedure had any serious side effects such as intestinal perforation.NIPPV (although non-synchronized and delivered by single nasal prong) had a better effect than NCPAP after extubation of preterm infants on mechanical ventilation in respect to reducing the prevalence of post-extubation atelectasis, re-intubation and also death.
Background The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio ( NLR ) is an easily accessible biomarker that has been reported to represent disease severity in adult trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between culture positiveness and NLR in cases where the reason of sepsis was considered, and to foresight an idea about the active agents. Methods Preterm infants with birth weights ≤1500 g and/or ≤32 gestational weeks were eligible for this study. The postnatal age of all included infants was more than 3 days with clinical and laboratory signs of sepsis. According to the results of blood cultures, all enrolled infants were classified into 2 groups: the culture‐proven septic infants and suspected septic infants. The NLR was calculated as the ratio of neutrophil count to lymphocyte count. Initial laboratory investigations included WBC count, platelet count ( PLT ), C‐reactive protein (CRP), and blood cultures. Results A total of 127 infants were involved: 57 culture‐proven sepsis and 75 suspected sepsis. There were no significant differences between groups regarding gestational age, gender, birth weight, delivery mode, and postnatal age. Receiver operating curve analysis for NLR and CRP was calculated. The area under the curve corresponded to 0.78 ± 0.04 ( NLR ) vs 0.55 ± 0.05 (CRP). Using a cutoff point of 1.77 for NLR , the sensitivity was 0.73, the specificity was 0.78, and accuracy rate was 0.76. Discussion The prediction of NLR , an easy, inexpensive, and rapid method, along with CRP in the neonatal period for diagnosis of sepsis, will be more effective in detecting culture‐proven sepsis and in decreasing unnecessary antibiotherapy.