Hyperammonemia of newborns should be treated promptly, and the outcome depends on the rapid elimination of excessive plasma ammonia. We encountered a case of transient hyperammonemia in an extremely low-birthweight infant whose plasma ammonia decreased sufficiently after continuous hemodialysis therapy. It seems that continuous hemodialysis therapy using the peripheral artery and umbilical vein is useful for hyperammonemia of extremely low-birthweight infants; however, there are several problems to consider due to the immaturity of these infants.
Importantly, in preterm infants, both the expression of GRβ and the GRα/GRβ ratio were associated with birth weight. Further studies with larger populations are necessary to determine the relation between the expression of GR and the clinical relevance of preterm infants.
IntroductionPulmonary interstitial emphysema is a serious complication of mechanical ventilation and can become life-threatening if progression occurs. Therapeutic lung puncture is a treatment option for severe pulmonary interstitial emphysema but has a limited use in babies with extremely low birth weight. We present a case of pulmonary interstitial emphysema in a Japanese baby (1-day-old) boy with extremely low birth weight. The emphysema was successfully decompressed by therapeutic lung puncture performed with a trocar catheter.Case presentationThe baby was born with a weight of 420g, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the lowest reported birth weight among babies with pulmonary interstitial emphysema. A chest X-ray on postnatal day 2 revealed pulmonary interstitial emphysema, which gradually progressed to diffuse pseudocystic changes. His condition became life-threatening despite the use of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and lateral decubitus positioning. We evacuated the pulmonary interstitial emphysema by lung puncture with a trocar catheter to avoid respiratory and cardiovascular collapse. This resulted in adequate evacuation of the emphysema and a dramatic improvement in his clinical condition.ConclusionsTherapeutic lung puncture performed with a trocar catheter is beneficial in babies with extremely low birth weight and diffuse pulmonary interstitial emphysema. This treatment option may be broadly applicable, especially in an emergency situation.
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