LEC 7: Health Challenges in the Newborn Flashcards
Common Complications
- Prematurity
- Thermoregulation
- Respiratory distress
- Hyperbilirubinemia
- Hypoglycemia
- Sepsis
- Neonatal abstinence syndrome
The Pre-Term Infant and Complications
- Respiratory
- Lack of surfactant
- Pronlems include
- Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Apnea
- Bronchoulmonary dusplasia (BPD)
- Cardiovascular
- Patent ductus arteriosis (PDA)
- Increased respiratory effort
- CO2 retention
- Thermoregulation
- Decreased brown fat
- Decreased subcutaneous fate, poor muscular development
- Less felxed tone
- Thin skin
- Increased BSA
- Increased exposure during resuscitation
- Gastrointestinal
- Small stomach, immature feeding reflexes
- Nectrotizing enterocoitis (NEC)
- Renal
- Decreased ability to concentrate urine
- Decreased ability to excrete drugs
- Hepatic/ Hematologic
- Immature liver leads to decreased conjugate bilirubin and leads to jaundice
- At risk for hypoglycemia
- Limited iron stores leads to anemia
- Neurological
- Periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH)
- Hydrocephalus
- Hearing loss
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)
Corticosteroids in PTL
- All pregnant women between 24 and 34 weeks gestation, who are at risk of preterm delivery within 7 days should be candicates for antenatel treatment with a single course of corticosteroids
- A single course of corticosteroids reduces prenatal mortality, respiratory distress syndrome, and intraventricular hemorrhage
- Betamethasone 12mg IM q24h x2 doses or Dexamethason 6mg IM q12h x 2 doses
MgSO4 for Fetal Neuroprotection
- New evidence that antenatel MgSO4 is neuro protective
- When women present with imminent preterm birth at <31 +6weeks
- Active labour with >4cm dilation with or without ROM
- Planned preterm birth for fetal or maternal idnications
- 4g IV loading dose over 30 minutes then 1g/hour maintennace until delivery
Preterm Temperature Control: Why are babys at increased risk?
- Less able to produce heat related to the higher ration of body surface to weight
- Lack of brown fat
- Think skin, causes greater insensible water loss
- Resuscitation efforts
- LDR or O.R abient temperature
- Try to keep infant as dry as possible
- Neutral temperature environments
- Use of food grad plastic abd to put babies inot is severly SGGA or preterm
- A could baby can lead to serious complications
Preterm Temperature Control: CPS and NRP Guidelines
- Maintenance of delivery room temperature aroun 25 to 26C will diminish heat loss
- In order to minimize heat loss, babies <28 weeks should immediately be palced wet, up to their neck, in a food grade polyethylene bag
The Late Preterm Infant: 34 to 36 Completed Weeks
- Often overlooked; do not appear dramatically sick
- Immature at birth; have missed 4 to 6 weeks of the 3rd trimester
- Brain size at 34 tp 35 weeks is 60% of that of infant at term
- The largest poportion of preterm births
Discharge of the Preterm Infant
- 24 hours of siccessful feeding must be established before discharged home
- First-time mothers require carefule suppervision when infants are leaving from an intesive care environment and should have a rooming-in experience
- Discharge plans must consider the health, parenting, and feeding skills, availability of support in the home
- Post-discharge assessment in community
- Developmental follow-up
Signs and Symptoms of Neonatal Respiratory Distress
- Tachypnea
- Apnea
- Cyanosis (circumoral)
- Grunting/ Cooing
- Nasal flaring
- Retractions/ indrawing
- Poor feeding
- Accessory muscle use
What are common causes of respiratory distress in neonates?
- Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Meconium aspiration (MSAF, MAS)
- Transient tachypnea of the newborn
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Usually found in neonatal
- 20% of neonatal deaths (0 to 28d)
- Lack of sufficient surfactant
- Surfactant: Reduces the risk of collapse
- Stress of protector
- Found during chronic stress
- Will develop signs of breathing quickly; first few hours of life
- RDS occurs due to a surfactant deficiency
- Onset- minutes to hours of birth
Risk Factors for Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Prematurity/ ummaturity of lung
- C/S without labour
- Males
- Caucasians
- Maternal diabetes
- Twin B
- Can delay surfactant delivery
- Perinatal asphyxia
Managment of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)
- Antenatal corticosteroids
- Exogenous surfactant
- Given endotracheal
- Surfactant can be produced synthetically
- Cont. positive airway pressure (CPAP) and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)
- Fluid and other supporitve care
- Vital signs
- Blood glucose
- Colour, edema, respiratory signs and symptoms
Meconium Stained Amniotic Fluid (MSAF)
- Fluid aspirated (think, thick, particulate)
- Amount and consistency vary
- Presence of mec below vocal cords
- Risk for airway abstraction
- Around 5% of MSAF result in Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
- Peripheral airway obstruction
- Proximsl airway obstruction
- Cytokine activation
- Worry about infection later (next few days)
Why does Meconium Stained Amniotic Fluid (MSAF) occur in 12% of live births?
- Fetus compromised (stress, cord compression, hypoxia)
- Physiologic
- Breach
- Post-term: More mature bowel
- Breach
What happens with a few breaths taken by nebown with MSAF)?
- Newborn is aspirating the mex with the first few breaths
- Suctioning is important, but does not mean it will prevent meconium aspiration syndrome
Care with Meconium Aspiration
- Prevent
- Avoid post maturity
- Amniotic infusion, routine suctioning of nose and pharynx
- Done in situations wheere there is less amniotic solution
- Not goign to necessarily fix the problem
- Endotracheal suction, by trained individual (only if poor tone and significant respiratory depression)
- Assisted ventilation
- Surfaxin (exogenous surfactant), steroids
- Close observation, supportive, nutrition
- Signs of respiratory distress, crackles, rhonci
Transient Tachypnea of Newborn
- Sometimes called “wet lung syndrome”
- Excess fluid in the lungs or delayed re-absorption of fetal lung fluid
- Around 1% of all deliveries
- Normal at birth
- Develops respiratory distress symptosm in 4 to 6 hours
- May be related to aspiration of amniotic fluid, excess secretions or tracheal fluid
- C-section or preterm
- Usually occurs within a few hours of birth and resolves within 12 to 72 hours
- May need O2, fluids, restric feeds