Stefan Johansson

Hello! I do not work in a NICU with surgical patients now but will check the Stockholm practise. Re-feeding the proximal stoma content is the general principle but I think it depends on the level of the stoma (as you suggest). Lets hope more share their feedback! @Francesco Cardona what is your thoughts with your PICU perspective?

Thank you @Francesco Cardona for being a great friend and brother on this somewhat bumpy journey. We have sorted out many things throughout the years, especially the very first Future of Neonatology conference in Stockholm, when we did "everything" what most conference organisers had others to do. And if I remember correctly, your son was about to be born, and my father the other way around... so there were indeed many things up in the air! Lets hope we can meet up soon!

Thanks @piatkat for kind words, and I am glad our paths crossed!

What a great initiative, and such important things to sort out!

On May 11, 2026, 99nicu turns 20. It’s a moment that feels deeply meaningful to me. When I shared the very first words on 99nicu back in 2006, and celibrated our first birth day in 2007, the idea was simple: to create a web-based space where NICU staff could “share and care.” This was before social media as we know it today, when like-minded people gathered on bulletin boards in the era of what we then called Web 2.0 (Wikipedia), guided by the belief that “information wants to be free.” (Those really were the days!) And yes, our first logo was… not too bad 🙂 Much of my inspiration back then came from 99mac, a community I was part of, where Mac users helped each other with all kinds of IT-related challenges. It made me think: why shouldn’t NICU staff have something similar? As a young neonatal specialist at the time, I was eager to connect beyond my own unit. But with demanding shifts, traveling to conferences was rarely possible. Since 2006, 99nicu has gone through many phases, from the early “just do it” years, through quieter periods, to where we are today: a full-fledged community with this website, conferences, webinars, and even the NICUVERSE, our own social media feed based on Mastodon. Over the years, our community has grown into something greater than a website. It’s a place of generosity, curiosity, and support. I’ve seen colleagues from around the world come together to discuss complex cases, challenge ideas, and stand by each other during difficult moments. For me personally, 99nicu has been an incredible journey. I’ve learned so much from all of you, and I feel truly grateful to have been part of building and nurturing this community together. Your willingness to share knowledge and perspectives, with the common purpose of improving care for newborns and their families, is such a source of inspiration. It’s also a powerful reminder that there is still a lot of good in the world. To everyone who has contributed over the past 20 years, whether by asking a question, sharing an insight, or simply being present, thank you ❤️ You are what makes 99nicu what it is. As we celebrate this milestone, I’m excited about what lies ahead. The need for connection and collaboration in neonatal care is as important as ever. With gratitude, Stefan PS. As a non-profit organization registered with the Swedish Tax Agency, we rely on community support. If you find value in 99nicu, please consider contributing an annual fee of 10 EUR, just click here!

Maybe this would be interesting for you to read: Neonatal Applications of Heliox: A Practical Review, from 2022 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8960277/

Here's the link to the paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39900010/

We use it for laxation. I do not believe the level-3 NICUs uses it during the level-3 stay but many of our preterm patients get it when they go into more advanced post-menstrual ages, like ≥34 week. But as said, I think this is like a "Stockholm tradition" and I personally do not feel comfortable this is the right thing to do... On the other hand, many parents report that infants get "less grumpy and have better gut movements", but this could potentially also be a placebo effect.

UPDATE - find the Job Board here, for open positions and for CV upload. Please beta test

We use it a crazy lot 😀 After all preterm infants stop our probiotic (ProPrems BTW) at 34w PMA, I think almost a majority of preterm infants get the Junior version of macrogol product. I am not very confident we do the best thing here, but this is how we do it...

Hi @Brar and all! And let us know when we can announce our Partnership and what you intend to do here :)

Forgot the link 😬 comes here! https://eped.se/backup/eped/lists/13285307916697158430.html

@juan carlos vidal there's plenty of our standard concentrations 😀 and a some special drugs have variants (to adapt to patients volume load), like dobutamin which have three different standards (500, 1000 and 2000 microg/mL). Anyway, you can find all drugs used in NICUs in Stockholm in our "eped" formulary, it is all in Swedish but you can easily find all medicines by generic names and an AI 🤖 can help translate the PDFs with dilution instructions. Hope this helps!

@Mo7 could you please try to re-upload or share a link? I would like to read it.

Thanks @AntoineBachy , important topic. The Swedish organisation MilkNet that organises all milk banks in Sweden have a a guideline only from 2016, you can download it here and ChatGPT can probably translate it well. My colleageu is leading MilkNet so I asked her. The very short version is that MoM is used as is, and without control. Patient Selection & Duration: No systematic bacteriological controls for anyone. Frequency & Uncertainty: n/a Bacteriological Thresholds: n/a The CMV Challenge: CMV status is not checked systematically. Resource Management: Swedish NICUs typically have "nutrition rooms" and dedicated staff (one nurse assistant per shift) that ensures little MoM waste

But how well represented was the <23w population in the Premiloc trial? (I don’t have access to that paper from here)

Spring times are soon getting here, to my home turf in rural Sweden. This open landscape (and framing forests) is where my brilliant ideas are rooted, and thrive. The feeling of opportunity and freedom. https://maps.app.goo.gl/eDaP3zTRCqfAhDox5?g_st=ac

The abstract submission deadline for CEPAS 2026 is extended until 15 April! Submit your research now for the opportunity to present your work at the Congress of the European Paediatric Academic Societies, taking place 28 - 31 October 2026 in Lyon, France. Submitting an abstract also gives you the opportunity to apply for prestigious investigator awards: EAP Young Investigator Award ESPR Bengt Robertson Award ESPR Early Career Investigator Prize In addition, ESPR Travel Grants are available for early career investigators whose abstracts are accepted, helping support attendance at CEPAS 2026. We will be there too , let ut meet up in Lyon!

I am bumping this thread with some interesting News from Sweden. Yesterday, the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics (an independent council within the Governmental Offices) presented their Report on care of extremely preterm infants born (and specifically infants born at 22-23 weeks). The full report can be downloaded here (and translated with ChatGPT or similar): https://smer.se/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/yttrande-vard-och-behandling-av-extremt-for-tidigt-fodda-barn.pdf Their main conclusions are: infants born at 22 weeks should primarily be given comforte/palliative care after 23 completed weeks, active care should gradually be the primary strategy parents should have more influence, and consent rights, in shared decision-making processes The Council recommends the Government to ask the national health care authority to issue a national guideline on practise. At yesterday's press conference, most Swedish University Hospitals where represented, and the Report was generally very well received. But one Univ Hospital with a history of tiny baby care objected strongly. Lets see how this develops, I foresee a loud debate...

I went into the details around this and the work flow above is the one the nurses use. There are a few steps before an infusion can get started but the pre-programmed medicines (with pre-recorded concentrations) can indeed reduce dosing errors. Naturally, the preparation of the infusions (dilutions, although we have written protocols for all) can still be a weak link...

For years, the 99nicu community has been a place where neonatal professionals connect, share knowledge, and support each other in improving care for the smallest patients. But could it also become a place where careers in neonatal care begin or take the next step? We’re exploring the idea of adding a Job Board to 99nicu — a dedicated space where NICUs and neonatal organizations could post job opportunities for nurses, neonatologists, fellows, researchers, and other neonatal professionals. Because 99nicu already brings together thousands of neonatal professionals globally, a job board could create a natural bridge between NICUs seeking staff and clinicians looking for their next role. Of course, the most important question is whether this would be useful for you, the community. Would you use a 99nicu Job Board? Would your NICU consider posting job opportunities there? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your feedback in the comments and help shape what the future of 99nicu could look like.

Ping @spartacus007 !

@westerngreen how are things progressing for your unusual case? Would be interesting to learn from it!

We are pleased to announce that the 99NICU Community has become an official partner of the CEPAS Conference, 28-31 Oct 2026. CEPAS is an international conference dedicated to advancing knowledge and collaboration in neonatal and pediatric care, a new biennial meeting of the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP) and the European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR). In addition, the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (GFCNI) is co-organiser. Through this partnership, 99NICU will help amplify the reach and discussions of CEPAS within our global neonatal community. In the lead-up to the conference, 99NICU will promote CEPAS across our social media channels to help spread awareness and encourage participation. During the conference, members of the 99NICU team will be present on site, host a dedicated 99NICU session, and provide live coverage of selected sessions through social media, sharing insights and key takeaways with the wider community. We look forward to working together with the CEPAS team to support collaboration, learning, and innovation in neonatal care. Learn more about the conference at cepas.org.