Diphtheria Antitoxin Levels and the Schick Reaction in Mothers and their Newborns

One hundred and sixty one mothers and their newborns were tested for their Schick state. In 18 cases diphtheria antitoxin levels were determined in maternal and cord blood.
A Schick positive reaction was found in 3.1 % of mothers. All newborns were Schick negative.
A good correlation was noted between maternal and cord blood antitoxin levels, as well as between the Schick state and the antitoxin titer in the mother. The discrepancy between antitoxin titer and the Schick reaction in the newborn is discussed.     

Serum Immunoglobulin Levels in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and Their Mothers and Sibs

Serum immunoglobulins G, A, and M were estimated in 29 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and their first-degree relatives. 6 newborn sibs had high IgM levels in cord blood. IgG and IgM were raised in the mothers'' sera and there was a significant decrease in the serum IgG of sibs aged 2 to 10 years. The findings suggest the presence of some antigenic stimulus, possibly a virus, in the intrauterine life of affected sibships. It is postulated that the immunoglobulin abnormalities may be related pathogenetically to the leukaemic process.     

Congenital Malformations in Newborns from Diabetic Mothers*

It has been well known that there is a high incidence of congenital malformations in newborns from diabetic mothers when the mothers' diabetes control before and during pregnancy is poor. We treated 438 pregnant diabetics who bore 443 children between February 1964 and June 1992. Among these children, there were 51 cases (11.5%) with congenital malformations, 21 cases with major anomalies (4.7%) and 30 cases with minor anomalies (6.8%). The type of malformations are not related to special organs; heart malformations and cleft lips are relatively frequent compared to other types of malformations. The mechanism of the congenital malformations in newborns from diabetic mothers remains unclear. However, clinically and experimentally it has been found to be due to fuel-mediated teratogenesis. Since October 1978, HbAi has been used as an index of diabetic control and the relationship between congenital malformations and the mother's diabetes control has been observed. 1) There is no difference in the incidence of malformations in children from IDDM and NIDDM mothers. However, there are more severe malformations in the children from IDDM mothers compared to those from NIDDM mothers. 2) Mothers who bore children with major malformations had all made their first visit to our hospital after pregnancy. HbAi in the IDDM mothers who had children with malformations at the first visit was 11%. 3) In the NIDDM mothers, even if HbAi levels are near normal, children with major malformations were born and there was little relationship between congenital malformations and the mothers' diabetes control. These data suggest that there are two kinds of congenital malformations in children from diabetic mothers, fuel-mediated teratogenesis, and malformations as seen in children from non-diabetic mothers.     

Serum Vitamin A Levels in Mothers and Their Breast-Fed Term Infants with or without Supplemental Vitamin A

ABSTRACT. Serum concentrations of vitamin A were measured in term infants ( n =72) and their mothers at delivery and after 20 weeks of breast-feeding ( n =48). During the 20 weeks the infants received either no supplemental vitamin A (but the mothers were given 3000 IU vitamin A daily) ( n =16) or a daily vitamin A supplementation of 600 ( n =17) or 1500 IU ( n =15). After 20 weeks of breast-feeding the vitamin A levels in the unsupplemented infants were similar to those at birth. The infants supplemented either with 600 or 1500 IU had higher vitamin A serum levels than at birth ( p <0.01), however, there was no difference between the two supplemented groups. During lactation, the serum vitamin A concentrations of the mothers increased significantly in all groups with or without vitamin A supplementation.     

Blood Eosinophil Levels in Newborns with Severe Indirect Hyperbilirubinemia Treated with Phototherapy

Objective: Newborns who suffer from jaundice and/or receive phototherapy (PT) are at a higher risk of developing asthma. In this study we aimed to investigate the relationship between bilirubin and peripheral eosinophil counts in newborns with severe hyperbilirubinemia needing PT. Methods: In this study, a retrospective analysis was performed on 306 newborns with severe hyperbilirubinemia with gestational age ≥35 weeks (Group 1) and the control group consisted of 295 age and gender-matched newborns (Group 2). Total serum bilirubin, hemoglobin, albumin, leucocyte and eosinophil counts before and after PT were recorded from medical charts. Findings : All the patients in Group 1 received phototherapy and 77 (25.2%) of them needed exchange transfusion (ET). Before receiving PT, the patients in Group 1 had lower levels of Hb and higher levels of total serum bilirubin and lymphocytes than those in Group 2 although there was no statistically significant difference with regard to peripheral eosinophil counts. Eosinophils were detected to be numerically lower in Group 1. Higher bilirubin subgroups had also lower eosinophil counts. The patients in Group 1 had lower levels of Hb, leucocyte, albumin and higher levels of eosinophil following PT. Conclusion: Peripheral eosinophil count may be affected by bilirubin levels and/or phototherapy. There is a need for further clinical research based on different models.Key Words: Newborn; Jaundice; Phototheraphy; Eosinophil; Asthma     

Plasma Protein C and Antithrombin III Levels in Polycythemic Newborns

Thromboembolic complications have been reported in association with neonatal polycythemia, the primary cause of hyperviscosity in the newborn. Although there are some studies on coagulation in polycythemic neonates, the situations that predispose these newborns to thrombosis are still not clear.1 One of the causes may be the reduction in blood flow within the microcirculation, which favors coagulation. As protein C (PC) and antithrombin III (AT III) are important coagulation inhibitors, we decided to study them in polycythemic newborns.     

急性呼吸窘迫综合征患儿气道吸出物内皮素-1、白细胞介素-8检测的意义

目的探讨内皮素-1(ET-1)和白细胞介素-8(IL-8)在急性呼吸窘迫综合征(ARDS)中的作用。方法采用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)检测ARDS 13例及对照组11例气道吸出物(TA)中ET-1、IL-8浓度,并对所有患儿进行肺损伤评分(LIS)。结果ARDs组TA中ET-1、IL-8含量较对照组显著增高(P<0.01),死亡组TA中ET-1、IL-8水平显著高于存活组(P<0.01),LIS评分与ET-1、IL-8水平呈显著正相关(P<0.01)。结论ET-1、IL-8参与ARDS发病过程,早期测定肺内ET 1、IL-8水平可作为判断其肺损伤严重程度和预后的指标。     

Interactions Between Mothers and Their Infants with Developmental Disabilities:

This paper has two goals: to review the research related to interaction of mothers and their infants with developmental disabilities during play and to demonstrate the necessity of addressing this area in intervention programs. The scope of this review, therefore, is the analysis and integration of theoretical and empirical literature that relates to mother and their infants with developmental disabilities during play to provide new and more comprehensive avenues for programming and research in this area.     

内皮素-1在新生儿缺氧缺血性脑病中的变化及意义

目的　探讨内皮素 - 1(ET - 1)在新生儿缺氧缺血性脑病 (HIE)中的变化及意义。方法　采用放射免疫法测定 2 0例正常小儿和 5 2例HIE患儿的血清及脑脊液 (CSF)中ET 1水平 ,并将HIE患儿分为轻、中、重 3组。结果　正常对照组血清ET 1为 6 8.71± 12 .0 3ng/L。轻、中、重度HIE血清ET 1在急性期分别为 98.38±12 .82ng/L ,10 7.2 1± 18.5 6ng/L ,119.5 6± 14.6 9ng/L ;恢复期分别为73.44± 11.79ng/L ,75 .73± 11.38ng/L ,83.92± 15 .99ng/L。HIE患儿急性期血清ET 1水平显著高于恢复期及正常对照组 ,P <0 .0 1。轻、中、重度HIE患儿急性期CSF中ET 1水平分别为 43.79± 7.14ng/L ,5 1.0 7± 11.19ng/L ,6 1.86± 13.5 5ng/L ;恢复期CSF中ET 1水平分别为 30 .79± 4.42ng/L ,33.0 7± 4.84ng/L ,39.5 0± 5 .5 6ng/L。急性期CSF中ET 1水平显著高于恢复期 ,均P <0 .0 1,且血清及CSF中ET 1水平与病情轻重密切相关。急性期HIE患儿血清和CSF中ET 1水平 ,重度组明显高于正常对照组P <0 .0 1及P <0 .0 5 ,尤以重度组升高显著 ;恢复期轻 ,中度组ET 1水平降至正常 ,而重度组仍维持在较高水平 ,且血清及CSF中ET 1水平与病情轻重密切相关。血清和CSF中ET 1水平与 1分钟Apgar评分呈显著负相关。 结论　ET 1在HIE的发     

Endothelin-1 in children with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis and hypertension

BACKGROUND: Endothelin-1 (ET-1), the most potent vasoconstrictor peptide, is known to play a role in arterial hypertension. In patients with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) an increase in the production of ET-1 is suspected due to damaged endothelium, platelet activation and increased thrombin production in the glomeruli. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the levels of plasma ET-1 are elevated in children with APSGN. Furthermore, we examined the association between plasma ET-1 levels and blood pressure levels in the same children. METHODS: We studied 18 children (14 boys) with APSGN (mean age 7.44 to approximately 2.82 years). Fourteen healthy children served as controls. The following parameters were evaluated: plasma ET-1, plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), plasma renin (Rn), serum aldosterone (Aldo), creatinine clearance (Ccr) and fractional excretion of sodium (FENa). RESULTS: The mean plasma ET-1 concentrations were higher in patients with APSGN (3.39 to approximately 1.86 pg/mL) compared to controls (1.40 to approximately 0.15 pg/mL; P=0.0001). Patients with APSGN also had higher plasma ANP concentrations (41.67 to approximately 27.99 pg/mL) than the controls (22.80 to approximately 4.24 pg/mL; P=0.011). Plasma Rn concentrations were lower in patients (24.54 to approximately 16.34 microU/mL) compared to controls (56.76 to approximately 32.36 microU/mL; P=0.027). A positive correlation was found between ET-1 plasma concentrations and the height of systolic or diastolic blood pressure (r=0.57, P=0.013 and r=0.53, P=0.023, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that increased plasma ET-1 concentrations may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension in children with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.     

A Comparison of Different Methods of Temperature Measurement by Mothers and Physicians in Healthy Newborns

Objective

To compare the accuracy of digital axillary thermometer (DAT), rectal glass mercury thermometer (RGMT) and infrared forehead skin thermometer (IFST) measurements made by mothers and physicians in healthy newborns.

Methods

The body temperature measurements of 120 healthy newborns were made on their 2nd day of life using DAT, RGMT and IFST, first by mothers followed by a designated physician. Correlation analysis was performed for the measurements obtained by mothers and the physician. The presence of a former child or children at home, the educational level of the mother and maternal age were also recorded.

Results

No correlation was observed between the measurements made by mothers and the physician using RGMT (R²?=?0.096). The temperatures measured by mothers and the physician showed a significant correlation when a DAT and IFST were used (R²?=?0.923, p?<?0.001; R²?=?0.916, p?<?0.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Difficulty of use and interpretation make RGMTs less practical than DATs and IFST for use by mothers. Measurements with an IFST are obtained from a newborn’s forehead in a shorter length of time compared to DATs, which makes it a more practical option.     

Prevalence of Interatrial Septal Aneurysm in Newborns and Their Natural Course

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) in newborns, to define the natural course of ASA, and to investigate its role on closure of associated interatrial septal opening (IASO). A total of 1072 consecutive neonates were examined with echocardiography in the early postnatal period. The length of the interatrial septum, the diameter of IASO, the excursion and base of aneurysm, and the width of the related atrium were measured and the excursion ratio and the basal ratio were calculated for each neonate. Aneurysms with an excursion ratio ≥25% were diagnosed as ASA. There were 81 neonates (7.6%) with ASA. The prevalence of ASA was 11.1% in preterm (14 of 126) and 7.1% in full-term newborns (67 of 946). All of the ASAs disappeared at the end of the first year of life, and there were no complications related to the lesion during the follow-up period. Although overall IASO prevalence was 78.6% (843 of 1072), it was 72.8% (59 of 81) among the cases with ASA. Although the disappearence time of interatrial septal shunt was not significantly different between the cases with and without ASA, spontaneous closure was less frequent in the cases with ASA than in those without ASA 77.7 and 96.1%), respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of ASA is high among newborns, with a high resolution rate. Therefore, it can be considered that it is benign and transient observation. Less frequent spontaneous closure of IASO in cases with ASA indicates that ASA may have a deleterious effect on spontaneous closure.     

Hyperbilirubinemia in Healthy Newborns Born to Immigrant Mothers from Southeastern Asia Compared to Italian Ones

Objective

To compare the characteristics of jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn population of both immigrant and Italian mothers.

Methods

The authors studied a group of 1,680 infants born at “A. Gemelli” hospital during 1 y. All were with appropriate weight for gestational age, weighting more than 2,500 g, born to low-risk pregnancy. Maternal ethnicity, clinically evident jaundice (that is total serum bilirubin (TSB)?>?7 mg/dL), hyperbilirubinemia (TSB?>?12 mg/dL), the duration of hospital stay and their need of phototherapy were evaluated.

Results

In infants born to Asian mothers, hyperbilirubinemia was significantly more frequent (48.8 % vs. 26.5 %, p?=?0.003) and they reached mean TSB peak significantly later (86.5?±?38.5 vs. 74.5?±?20.6 h, P?=?0.0001) compared with Italian infants. The average length of hospitalization of infants of Asian and Latin American mothers is significantly longer compared to Italian newborns (4.5?±?1.9 vs. 3.6?±?1.1, p <0.0001 and 4.2?±?1.6 vs. 3.6?±?1.1, p?=?0.0004). With regard to the use of phototherapy, and to its duration, there are no significant differences between the populations studied.

Conclusions

Having studied all infants at low risk, the greater length of hospitalization is due to later peak and the higher frequency of jaundice in newborns of immigrant mother, especially in Asia. Therefore, as it happens to the Italian newborns, it would be desirable to build forecasting nomograms in these populations, to reduce the length of hospitalization and facilitate protected discharge.     

Sulphasalazine and Sulphapyridine Serum Levels in Children to Mothers Treated with Sulphasalazine during Pregnancy and Lactation

ABSTRACT. Serum concentrations of sulphasalazine and sulphapyridine were measured during the first week of life in 15 children whose mothers had been on sulphasalazine during pregnancy. The serum concentrations of sulphapyridine and sulphasalazine were similar in the children and their mothers at delivery. The elimination rate of the drugs in the newborn children was slow but the concentrations were not so high that a bilirubin displacing effect could be expected. In eight mothers who were breast-feeding and taking sulphasalazine, analyses were done of mothers'serum, breast-milk and serum from their children. The results showed that the amount of sulphasalazine and sulphapyridine transferred to the child via the breast-milk is negligible with regard to the risk of kernicterus. It is concluded that a woman in need of sulphasalazine treatment can continue the medication throughout pregnancy and lactation without risk of development of kernicterus in her child. Only term infants without haemolytic disease were included in the study. Thus our conclusion is not necessarily valid for the prematurely born child or the child with haemolytic disease.     

Troponin T and NT ProBNP Levels in Gestational,Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetic Mothers and Macrosomic Infants

This study compares NT proBNP and troponin T levels in umbilical cord arterial blood and postnatal echocardiographic findings for infants of gestational and pregestational diabetic mothers and macrosomic infants. Twenty-seven infants of pregestational diabetic mothers, 61 infants of gestational diabetic mothers and 37 macrosomic infants of nondiabetic mothers were prospectively enrolled in this study along with a control group of 58 healthy infants of mothers without any pregestational or gestational disorders as the control group. All enrollees were born after 34 weeks of gestation. For this study, umbilical cord blood was drawn during delivery to determine NT proBNP and troponin T levels. Echocardiography was performed 24–72 h after the delivery. Umbilical cord troponin T and NT proBNP levels were found to be higher in the diabetic and macrosomic groups than in the control group (all of them p < 0.001). NT proBNP levels were positively correlated with interventricular septum thickness in the pregestational and gestational infants of diabetic mothers groups (r = 0.564 and r = 0.560, respectively, p < 0.01). Both pregestational and gestational diabetic mothers were divided into two groups according to HbA1c levels in the third trimester as good (<6.1 %) and suboptimal (>6.1 %) metabolic control. In the good and suboptimal metabolic control diabetic groups, NT proBNP levels were also positively correlated with interventricular septum thickness (r = 0.536 and r = 0.576, respectively, p < 0.01). In the suboptimal metabolic control diabetic group, NT proBNP was only found to be positively correlated with the left ventricular mass index (r = 0.586, p < 0.01). While there was no correlation in the myocardial performance index between infants of diabetic mothers and the control group, the myocardial performance index of macrosomic infants was lower than that of the control group (p = 0.017). Cardiac biomarkers (NT proBNP and troponin T) were elevated in infants of diabetic mothers and macrosomic infants. While there was a positive correlation between NT proBNP levels and cardiac structure in infants of pregestational and gestational diabetic mothers, there was no relationship between NT proBNP levels and cardiac function.