Objective: We wished to compare the efficacy of light-emitting diode (LED) phototherapy with special blue fluorescent (BB) tube phototherapy in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Study design:We randomly assigned 66 infantsX35 weeks of gestation to receive phototherapy using an LED device or BB. In addition to phototherapy from above, all infants also received phototherapy from below using four BB tubes or a fiberoptic pad.Result: After 15±5 h of phototherapy, the rate of decline in the total serum bilirubin (TSB) was 0.35±0.25 mg/dl/h in the LED group vs 0.27±0.25 mg/dl/h in the BB group (P ¼ 0.20).Conclusion: LED phototherapy is as effective as BB phototherapy in lowering serum bilirubin levels in term and near-term newborns.

Objective: To evaluate predischarge transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements combined with risk factors as predictors of the risk of a subsequent total serum bilirubin (TSB) X17 mg per 100 ml (291 mmol l À1).Study Design: Routine TcB measurements are obtained daily for all infants in our well baby nursery. We performed a nested case-control study comparing all 75 infants who had been readmitted with TSB were discharged from the well baby nursery. Seventy-five infants (0.65%) were readmitted at a mean age of 110 ± 29.9 h with a TSBX17 mg per 100 ml (291 mmol l À1 ). All received phototherapy. Using logistic regression analysis, three variables were statistically significant for predicting cases: the maximum predischarge TcB percentile group (P<0.0001, adjusted odds ratio (AOR), >95th percentile 148; 95% confidence interval (CI) 21 to >999, AOR 76 to 95th percentile 15; 95% CI 3.1 to 70, AOR 50 to 75th percentile 6.1; 95% CI 1.3 to 28 compared with <50th percentile), exclusive breastfeeding (P<0.0001, AOR 11; 95% CI 3.7 to 34) and gestational age (P ¼ 0.0057, AOR 35 to 36 6/7 week 21; 95% CI 2.3 to 185, AOR 37 to 37 6/7 week 15; 95% CI 1.9 to 115, AOR 38 to 38 6/7 week 1.8; 95% CI 0.3 to 11, AOR 39 to 39 6/7 week 1.1; 95% CI 0.2 to 7 AOR X41 week 0.88; 95% CI 0.1 to 10 compared with 40 to 40 6/7 week infants). These three variables provided the best prediction of a case (c ¼ 0.885, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) and this prediction was significantly better than the use of the clinical risk factors, gestation and exclusive breastfeeding, alone (c ¼ 0.770, P<0.001) or the TcB percentile grouping alone (c ¼ 0.766, P<0.001).Substituting the TcB rate of rise (c ¼ 0.903, P ¼ 0.316) or the last measured TcB (c ¼ 0.873, P ¼ 0.292) for the maximum TcB measurement did not significantly improve the predictors of a case. Conclusion:Combining predischarge TcB levels with two clinical risk factorsFgestational age and exclusive breastfeedingFsignificantly improves the prediction of subsequent hyperbilirubinemia.

BACKGROUND No prospective cohort study of high-risk children has used rigorous exposure assessment and optimal diagnostic procedures to examine the perinatal antecedents of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), separately among those with and without cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE To identify perinatal factors associated with increased risk for ASD with and without intellectual disability (ID: IQ < 70) in children born extremely preterm. STUDY DESIGN This prospective multi-center (14 institutions in 5 states) birth cohort study included children born at 23-27 weeks gestation in 2002-2004 who were evaluated for ASD and ID at age 10 years. Pregnancy information was obtained from medical records and by structured maternal interview. Cervical-vaginal ‘infection’ refers to maternal report of bacterial infection (n = 4), bacterial vaginosis (n = 30), yeast infection (n = 62), mixed infection (n = 4) or other/unspecified infection (n=43; e.g., chlamydia, trichomonas or herpes, etc.). We do not know the extent to which ‘infection’ per se was confirmed by microbial colonization. We use the terms ‘fetal growth restriction’ and ‘small for gestational age’ interchangeably in light of the ongoing challenge to discern pathologically from constitutionally small newborns. Severe fetal growth-restriction was defined as a birth weight Z-score for gestational age at delivery < - 2 (i.e., 2 standard deviations or more below the median birth weight in a referent sample that excluded pregnancies delivered for preeclampsia or fetal indications). Participants were classified into four groups based on whether or not they met rigorous diagnostic criteria for ASD and ID (ASD+/ID−, ASD+/ID+, ASD−/ID+ and ASD−/ID−). Temporally-ordered multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the information conveyed by perinatal factors about increased risk for ASD and/or ID (ASD+/ID−, ASD+/ID+ and ASD−/ID+). RESULTS 889 of 966 (92%) children recruited were assessed at age 10 years, of whom 857 (96%) were assessed for ASD; of these, 840 (98%) children were assessed for ID. ASD+/ID− was diagnosed in 3.2% (27/840), ASD+/ID+ in 3.8% (32/840), and ASD−/ID+ in 8.5% (71/840). Maternal report of presumed cervical-vaginal ‘infection’ during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of ASD+/ID+ (odd ratio [OR], 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-6.4). The lowest gestational age category (23-24 weeks) was associated with increased risk of ASD+/ID+ (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.3-6.6) and ASD+/ID− (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.7-11). Severe fetal growth restriction was strongly associated with increased risk for ASD+/ID− (OR, 9.9; 95% CI, 3.3-30), whereas peripartum maternal fever was uniquely associated with increased risk of ASD−/ID+ (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.2-6.7). CONCLUSION Our study confirms that low gestational age is associated with increased risk for ASD irrespective of intellectual ability, whereas severe fetal growth restriction is strongly associated with ASD without ID. Maternal report of cervical-vaginal infection is associated with increased risk of ASD with ID, and per...

Objective To evaluate the difference in 10-year neurocognitive outcomes among extremely low gestational age newborns without bacteremia or with suspected or confirmed late-onset bacteremia. Study design Neurocognitive function was evaluated at 10 years of age in 889 children born at <28 weeks of gestation and followed from birth. Definite (culture positive) late-onset bacteremia during postnatal weeks 2–4 was identified in 223 children and 129 had suspected bacteremia. Results Infants with the lowest gestational age and birth weight Z-score had the highest prevalence of definite and suspected late-onset bacteremia. When compared with peers with no or suspected bacteremia, infants with definite bacteremia performed worse on tests of general cognitive ability, language, academic achievement, and executive function, even when adjusting for potential confounders. Adjustment for low IQ attenuated associations between bacteremia and all dysfunctions at 10 years. Children who had suspected bacteremia did not differ appreciably from children who did not have any evidence of bacteremia. The motor domain was unaffected. Conclusions Extremely low gestational age newborns who had definite late bacteremia during postnatal weeks 2–4 are at heightened risk of neurocognitive limitations at 10 years of age.

Three quarters of children had normal intellect at age ten years; nearly 70% were free of neurodevelopmental impairment. Forty percent of children with impairments had multiple diagnoses.

Objectives-To examine elevated neonatal inflammatory and neurotrophic proteins from children born extremely preterm in relation to later childhood brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging volumes and cognition.Study design-We measured circulating inflammation-related proteins and neurotrophic proteins on postnatal days 1, 7, and 14 in 166 children at 10 years of age (73 males; 93 females). Top quartile levels on ≥2 days for ≥3 inflammation-related proteins and for ≥4 neurotrophic

The multiplicity of risk factors identified can be subsumed as components of four broad themes: low socioeconomic state, immaturity or vulnerability, inflammation, and epigenetic phenomena.

The association of hand preference (left, mixed, and right) with cognitive, academic, motor, and behavioral function was evaluated in 864 extremely preterm children at 10 years of age. Left-handed and right-handed children performed similarly but mixed-handed children had greater odds of functional deficits across domains than right-handed children.