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About this blog

I am a Neonatologist trained in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta.  My current position is Section Head of Neonatology in Manitoba and over my career my interests have meandered from time to time.  I have been a past Program Director of Neonatology and Medical Director for a level II Intensive Care Unit prior to relocating to Winnipeg become a Section Head.

Welcome to my blog which I hope will provide a forum for discussion on topics that are of interest to Neonatologists, trainees, all health care professionals and in some cases parents of those we care for.  My intent is to post opinions and analysis on both items from the media and literature that pertain to neonates.  While I have many interests, my particular motivation is to find ways to reduce discomfort for the patients that we care for.  Whether it is through the use of non-invasive testing or finding a way to improve the patient experience this is where I find myself most energized.

I chose the picture for this site as since the inception of this site there is hardly a country that has not had an individual or many people view posts.  Moreover I have received comments from many people from so many different countries that have inspired me to think not just about the impact of these posts in North America but more globally as well.

If you like what you see and would like updates to be sent to you as they are published feel free to follow the site by clicking the follow button on the sidebar to the bottom right.  You can also follow both my Twitter (@NICU_Musings) and Facebook feeds for additional content and discussion by clicking the additional links found there.

My Facebook page serves as a better means of expanding dialogue on a variety of topics and posts

https://www.facebook.com/allthingsneonatal

Please share and like to help expand the circle of knowledge

Entries in this blog

What Is Driving The Desire For N95 Masks For Newborn Resuscitation?

I had the pleasure of being asked to speak to a Canadian audience of people working with newborns yesterday about the new CPS practice points for managing deliveries and newborns with suspected or proven COVID-19. Something fascinating happened over the course of the discussion and that was that we are a country divided. It didn’t help that the week prior to the CPS releasing their practice points the American Academy of Pediatrics released the following position: “Precautions for birth

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Is it safe to use my breast milk if I have COVID-19?

This is another hot topic out there as centers around the world struggle to determine how best to manage the mother who has contracted COVID-19 in pregnancy. There are resources out there already such as the CDC which states the following. The World Health Organization also has this to say as of yesterday. The question though is where do these recommendations come from? How strong is the evidence? Let’s begin with another Coronavirus Do you remember SARS? This

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Canadian COVID-19 Resources

We are living in challenging times but, as a community caring for neonates and their families, we will get through this together.  Canadians and others around the world are digesting a great deal of information in order to come up with a best approach to caring for mothers and infants with either suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections.  It is an imperfect science for sure as we have scarce information to go on but you may find it helpful to look at what centres are doing in terms of their ap

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Fact or Fiction. Can a baby be born with COVID-19?

This week on social media this seemed to be a hot topic. What should we do to protect ourselves as we start to see more mothers infected or at least suspected of having COVID-19 presenting in labour. Should we be assuming all of these infants are infected and if so should we all don personal protective equipment (PPE) including the N95 mask? Let’s see what we know so far. The Media The big concern with this began after a report of a 36 hour old newborn in China cont

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Intranasal delivery of stem cells to cure BPD?

One of the most common conditions afflicting ex-preterm infants is chronic lung disease. Through advances in antenatal steroids, surfactant and modern ventilation we have done what we can to try and prevent this condition from occurring yet despite our best efforts CLD remains a common problem among those born at less than 1500g as is shown in the 2018 Canadian Neonatal Network data. Primary prevention is of course the ideal strategy to reduce disease but when you try and your best and an

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Gastric or transpyloric feeding. Which is better for babies with BPD?

First off I should let you know that we do not do transpyloric feeding for our infants with BPD. Having said that I am aware of some units that do. I suspect the approach is a bit polarizing. A recent survey I posted to twitter revealed the following findings: I think the data from this small poll reveal that while there is a bias towards NG feeds, there is no universal approach (as with many things in NICU). Conceptually, units that are using transpyloric feeds would do so bas

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Is inhaled nitric oxide at birth good for all ELGANs?

Inhaled nitric oxide has been around for some time now. I recall it being called at one point in medical school “endothelial relaxation factor” and then later on identified as nitric oxide. Many years later it finds itself in common usage in NICUs all over the world. Our experience though has been for treatment of pulmonary hypertension and for that it is pretty clear that for those afflicted by that condition it can be lifesaving. Over the years other uses have been looked at including preventi

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Is the hip exam painful?

The Ortolani and Barlow manouvers are probably the two most requested parts of the physical exam that students ask to be shown. We line up several medical students who take turns applying the steps of abduction and then adduction, testing the stability of the hips. We routinely give oral sucrose, position in kangaroo care or breastfeed while performing other noxious stimuli such as heel lancing but at least in my centre give nothing for manipulating the hips in such a fashion. How can we

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Can provision of colostrum prevent late sepsis in infants <1500g?

Oral immune therapy (OIT) has really taken off at least in our units. The notion here is that provision of small amounts (0.2 mL intrabucally q2or 24 hours) can prime the immune system. Lymphoid tissue present in the oropharynx and intestine exposed to this liquid gold in theory will give the immune system a boost and increase levels of IgA. Such rises in IgA could help improve the mucosal defence barrier and therefore lessen the incidence of late onset sepsis. Rodriguez et al described this in

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

How non-invasive NAVA could really reduce neonatal bradycardia

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assistance or NAVA is something that has been around for awhile. Available as a mode on the Maquet ventilator it uses an esophageal probe to sense myoelectrical activity in the diaphragm and provide assistance with postive pressure when detected. This is supposed to be better than the more traditional Graseby capsules or sensing based on airflow. Conceptually then if a preterm infant had a typical mixed apneic event with a component of both central and obstructive a

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

A new system for managing serum glucose with less pokes. This is a good thing.

Glucose metabolism in the newborn can be a tricky thing to manage. Neonates can have significant fluctuation in their serum glucose in the first few days of life which can lead heels to look like pin cushions. How many times have you been asked as a physician if there is anything we can do to reduce the number of pokes? That something may have arrived at least in a feasibility study that could pave the way for this becoming the standard approach to hypo/hyperglycemia in the newborn. This is an i

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

How long should delayed cord clamping really be?

The story around cord management after birth continues to be an evolving one. I have certainly posted my own thoughts on this before with my most recent post being Delayed cord clamping may get replaced. Time for physiological based cord clamping. While this piece demonstrated that there are benefits to longer times till clamping is done, it also showed that if you go too long hypothermia becomes a real risk and with it possible complications. At least in our centre the standard that we have tri

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Question solved? Why HFNC appears to be inferior to nCPAP for preemies.

To be sure there are fans of both HFNC and CPAP out there. I have often heard from other Neonatologists that they use HFNC and find positive results while other centres refuse to use it in favour of the tried and true CPAP. Turning to the literature you will find some conflicting results with some studies suggesting equity and others more recently favouring CPAP. There has been speculation as to why one would be superior to the other and now we appear to have some answers as to where the differe

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Aerosolized surfactant. Can we finally do away with intubation?

I have written about non-traditional methods of providing surfactant to newborns previously. The practice of intubating a preterm infant to administer surfactant and leaving the endotracheal tube in with a slow wean of ventilation is mostly a thing of the past (at least in my units). Strategies have evolved and have seen the development of the INSURE technique, LISA methods, use of an LMA to delivery surfactant and even simple deposition into the pharynx all with variable success. The Holy

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

High tidal volume during PPV for infants <29 weeks GA linked to IVH

Just about all of our preterm infants born at <29 weeks start life out the same in terms of neurological injury.  There are of course some infants who may have suffered ischemic injury in utero or an IVH but most are born with their story yet to be told.  I think intuitively we have known for some time that the way we resuscitate matters.  Establishing an FRC by inflating the lungs of these infants after delivery is a must but as the saying goes the devil is in the details. The Edmonton

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Developmental outcomes for extreme preemies after delivery room CPR.

We have all been there.  After an uneventful pregnancy a mother presents to the labour floor in active labour.  The families world is turned upside down and she goes on to deliver an infant at 27 weeks.  If the infant is well and receives minimal resuscitation and is on CPAP we provide reassurance and have an optimistic tone.  If however their infant is born apneic and bradycardic and goes on to receive chest compressions +/- epinephrine what do we tell them?  This infant obviously is much sicke

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Exclusive human milk diets may overcome programming for the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome describes the development as an adult of centripetal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, elevated blood sugar and low HDL cholesterol. These constellation of problems significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. The origins of this syndrome may begin in the newborn period as previous research has noted an association with infants who are born SGA and development of insulin resistance later in life as in the paper Insuli

Can we reduce severe IVH with elevated midline head positioning for ELBWs?

Recently the practice of keeping ELBW infants with a midline head position for the first three days of life has been recommended to reduce IVH as part of a bundle in many units.  The evidence that this helps to reduce IVH has been somewhat circumstantial thus far.  Studies finding that decreased sagittal sinus blood flow, increased cerebral blood volume with increased intracranial pressure all occur after head turns would theoretically increase the risk of IVH.  Raising the head of the bed would

Intratracheal instillation of steroids to prevent BPD

Choosing to provide postnatal systemic steroids to preterm infants for treatment of evolving BPD has given many to pause before choosing to administer them. Ever since K Barrington published his systematic review The adverse neuro-developmental effects of postnatal steroids in the preterm infant: a systematic review of RCTs. and found a 186% increase in risk of CP among those who received these treatments, efforts have been made to minimize risk when these are given.  Such efforts have included

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Keeping up with the Kardashians: Should you eat your placenta after delivery?

The medical term for this is placentophagy and it is a real thing. If you follow the lay press you may have seen that originally this was promoted by Kourtney Kardashian who did this herself and then by Kim who planned on doing the same after delivery. See Did Kourtney Kardashian Eat Her Placenta? This is not completely without basis as many readers will be thinking already that they have heard about the health benefits of doing the same. Reports of improved mood and reductions in the ba

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

What secrets are hiding in your patient monitor?

This post is very exciting to me.  All of us in the field of Neonatology are used to staring at patient monitors.  With each version of whatever product we are using there seems to be a new feature that is added to soothe our appetites for more data.  The real estate on the screen is becoming more and more precious as various devices such as ventilators, NIRS and other machines become capable of displaying their information in a centralized place.  The issue though is that there is only so much

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Can topical breast milk cure teenage and adult acne?

A recent post on the intranasal application of breast milk Can intranasal application of breastmilk cure severe IVH? garnered a lot of attention and importantly comments.  Many of the comments were related to other uses for breast milk (almost all of which I had no idea about).  A quick search by google uncovered MANY articles from the lay press on such uses from treating ear infections to diaper dermatitis.  One such article 6 Surprising Natural Uses For Breast Milk certainly makes this liquid

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Do you know what’s in your tube of glucose gel?

Hypoglycemia has been a frequent topic of posts over the last few years. Specifically, the use of dextrose gels to avoid admission for hypoglycemia and evidence that such a strategy in not associated with adverse outcomes in childhood. What we know is that dextrose gels work and for those centres that have embraced this strategy a reduction in IV treatment with dextrose has been noted as well. Dextrose gels however in the trials were designed to test the hypothesis that use of 0.5 mL/kg

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Can intranasal application of breastmilk cure severe IVH?

It isn’t often in Neonatology these days that something truly innovative comes along. While the study I will be discussing is certainly small I think it represents the start of something bigger that we will see evolve over the coming years. There is no question that the benefits of mother’s own milk are extensive and include such positive outcomes as improved cognition in preterm infants and reductions in NEC. The benefits come from the immunological properties as well as the microbiome

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

Less Invasive Surfactant Administration with High Volume Surfactant

InSurE (Intubate, Surfactant, Extubate) has been the standard approach for some time when it comes to treating RDS.  Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA) or Minimally Invasive Surfactant Administration (MIST) have been growing in popularity as an alternative technique.  More than just popular, the techniques have been shown to reduce some important short term and possibly long term outcomes when used instead of the InSurE approach.  Aldana-Aquirre et al published the most recent system

AllThingsNeonatal

AllThingsNeonatal

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