Background: The first consensus standardised neonatal parenteral nutrition formulations were implemented in many neonatal units in Australia in 2012. The current update involving 49 units from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and India was conducted between September 2015 and December 2017 with the aim to review and update the 2012 formulations and guidelines. Methods: A systematic review of available evidence for each parenteral nutrient was undertaken and new standardised formulations and guidelines were developed. Results: Five existing preterm Amino acid-Dextrose formulations have been modified and two new concentrated Amino acid-Dextrose formulations added to optimise amino acid and nutrient intake according to gestation. Organic phosphate has replaced inorganic phosphate allowing for an increase in calcium and phosphate content, and acetate reduced. Lipid emulsions are unchanged, with both SMOFlipid (Fresenius Kabi, Australia) and ClinOleic (Baxter Healthcare, Australia) preparations included. The physicochemical compatibility and stability of all formulations have been tested and confirmed. Guidelines to standardise the parenteral nutrition clinical practice across facilities have also been developed. Conclusions: The 2017 PN formulations and guidelines developed by the 2017 Neonatal Parenteral Nutrition Consensus Group offer concise and practical instructions to clinicians on how to implement current and up-to-date evidence based PN to the NICU population.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with neonatal and long-term neuro-morbidity. Preferential redistribution of blood flow to the brain is a common antenatal adaptation in FGR. The impact of this “brain sparing,” which may signify severity of FGR, on the growth of brain structures has not been studied. <b><i>Aim:</i></b> To compare corpus callosum (CC), cerebellar, and ventricular measurements of FGR neonates with evidence of fetal blood flow redistribution with those of gestation-matched appropriately grown (AGA) neonates. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This was a pilot, prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary level neonatal unit in Melbourne, Australia. Cranial ultrasound was done between days 1 and 3 of life in FGR and AGA neonates. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Cranial ultrasound on 20 FGR, gestation (mean ± SD) 31.4 ± 3.1 weeks, weight 1,205 ± 463 g, and 20 AGA neonates, 31.1 ± 3.0 weeks, 1,668 ± 490 g, was performed. CC length was significantly decreased in FGR neonates as compared to AGA neonates (35.28 ± 3.47 vs. 38.83 ± 4.05 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.0002). CC was significantly thinner at genu (3.36 ± 0.66 vs. 4.04 ± 0.83 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.007), body (1.97 ± 0.36 vs. 2.27 ± 0.39 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.02), and splenium (4.07 ± 0.76 vs. 4.72 ± 0.75 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.003) in FGR vs. AGA neonates. CC-fastigium length was also significantly decreased (39.65 ± 3.87 vs. 41.96 ± 4.50 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.04). Similarly, FGR neonates showed decreased transverse cerebellar diameter (36.15 ± 5.51 vs. 38.81 ± 7.21 mm, <i>p</i> = 0.02), but ventricular measurements were comparable. In multivariate analysis, these differences were evident independent of the birth weight. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b>CC and cerebellar measurements are significantly smaller in FGR neonates with fetal blood flow redistribution, which warrants further study.

BackgroundNew standardised parenteral nutrition (SPN) formulations were implemented in July 2011 in many neonatal intensive care units in New South Wales following consensus group recommendations. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of new consensus formulations in preterm infants born less than 32 weeks.MethodsA before-after intervention study conducted at a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. Data from the post-consensus cohort (2011 to 2012) were prospectively collected and compared retrospectively with a pre-consensus cohort of neonates (2010).ResultsPost-consensus group commenced parenteral nutrition (PN) significantly earlier (6 v 11 hours of age, p 0.005). In comparison to the pre-consensus cohort, there was a higher protein intake from day 1 (1.34 v 0.49 g/kg, p 0.000) to day 7 (3.55 v 2.35 g/kg, p 0.000), higher caloric intake from day 1 (30 v 26 kcal/kg, p 0.004) to day 3 (64 v 62 kcal/kg, p 0.026), and less daily fluid intake from day 3 (105.8 v 113.8 mL/kg, p 0.011) to day 7 (148.8 v 156.2 mL/kg, p 0.025), and reduced duration of lipid therapy (253 v 475 hr, p 0.011). This group also had a significantly greater weight gain in the first 4 weeks (285 v 220 g, p 0.003).ConclusionsNew consensus SPN solutions provided better protein intake in the first 7 days and were associated with greater weight gain in the first 4 weeks. However, protein intake on day 1 was below the consensus goal of 2 g/kg/day.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-014-0309-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The objective of this study was to ascertain the efficacy of oral paracetamol in closing a symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) when used as 'rescue' option. After obtaining ethics approval, a retrospective appraisal of the data from April 2014 to July 2015 was performed. Infants who were administered oral paracetamol either after unsuccessful therapy with ibuprofen or where it was considered contraindicated were included. A previously published echocardiographic scoring schema to stratify for ductal disease severity was used. Using univariate analysis, characteristics of infants with successful closure were compared with partial (a priori reduction in composite score by ≥ 50% of pretreatment) or no closure. Twenty infants with gestation age and birthweight of 25.7 ± 1.5 weeks and 724.1 ± 143 g, respectively, were studied. Complete closure was noted in 10 (50%) infants with additional four infants showing a significant reduction in haemodynamic shunting. Gestational age at birth and at therapy, chronological age at therapy, birthweight and total fluid intake were comparable between the two groups. The pre-therapy composite score had a significant association with successful closure (the higher the echocardiographic score, the lesser the closure). Concomitant furosemide therapy and late-onset sepsis had a high likelihood ratio of unsuccessful closure (11.01 [2-tailed, p = 0.005] and 5.3 [2-tailed, p = 0.07]), respectively. Oral paracetamol may be a possible therapeutic option in premature infants where therapy with first-line agents is unsuccessful or contraindicated. Concomitant sepsis and furosemide administration may affect successful therapy.