Neonatology Flashcards
How do you evaluate general appearance in a newborn?
-
Careful observation
- Spontaneous activity, passive muscle tone, respirations, abnormal signs (cyanosis, intercostal muscle retractions, meconium staining)
-
Apgar scores
- Assessment of intrapartum stress & neurologic depression at birth
- 1-5 min after birth
- Continue every 5 min until final score _>_7
What are the 5 components of the Apgars?
- Heart rate
- Respirations
- Muscle tone
- Reflex irritability
- Color
How is the Apgars scored?
- heart rate
- respirations
- muscle tone
- reflex irritability
- color
-
heart rate
- 0 - absent
- 1 - <100/min
- 2 - >100/min
-
respirations
- 0 - absent
- 1 - slow, irregular
- 2 - good, crying
-
muscle tone
- 0 - limp
- 1 - some flexion
- 2 - active motion
-
reflex irritability (catheter in nose)
- 0 - no response
- 1 - grimace
- 2 - cough, sneeze, cry
-
color
- 0 - blue, pale
- 1 - body pink, blue extremities
- 2 - completely pink
What are the 13 variations in the newborn skin exam?
- Lanugo
- Vernix caseosa
- Color
- Pallor
- Jaundice
- Milia
- Mongolian spots
- Pustular melanosis
- Erythema toxicum neonatorum
- Nevus simplex
- Nevus flammeus
- Strawberry hemangiomas
- Neonatal acne
Lanugo
thin hair that covers the skin of preterm infants
minimally present in term infants
Vernix caseosa
- Thick, white, creamy material in term infants
- Covers large areas of the skin in preterm infants
- Usually absent in postterm infants
Describe color in newborns
What are some signs of instability?
- Pink a few hrs after birth
-
Acrocyanosis
- Cyanosis of the hands & feet
- First 48-72 hrs
- Cold infant: through 1st mo of life
-
Cutis marmorata
- Mottling of the skin w/ venous prominence
- Intermittent signs of vasomotor instability
Pallor
neonatal asphyxia, shock, sepsis, anemia
Jaundice
- Abnormal w/i first 24 hrs of birth
- Frequently seen during first few days after birth
- Not associated w/ serious disease
Milia
- Very small cysts formed around the pilosebaceous follicles
- Tiny, whitish papules
- Nose, cheeks, forehead, chin
- Disappear w/i a few wks, no treatment
Mongolian spots
- Dark blue hyperpigmented macules
- Lumbosacral area & buttocks
- No pathologic significance
- Hispanic, Asian, African American infants
Pustular melanosis
- Benign transient rash
- Small, dry superficial vesicles
- Dark macular base
- African American infants
- Differentiation from HSV & impetigo
Erythema toxicum neonatorum
- Benign rash
- First 72 hrs after birth
-
Erythematous macules, papules, pustules
- “flea bites”
- Trunk, extremities (not palms or soles)
- 50% of full-term infants
- Lesions filled w/ eosinophils
- No treatment required
Nevus simplex
- “salmon patch” or telangiectatic nevus
- Most common vascular lesion of infancy
- 30-40% of newborns
-
Pink macular lesion
- Nape of neck (“stork bite”)
- Upper eyelids
- Glabella
- Nasolabial region
- Often transient
Nevus flammeus
- “port wine stain”
- Congenital vascular malformation
- Dilated capillary-like vessels
- Capillary hemangioma
- Face or trunk
- Darker w/ increasing post-natal age
-
Sturge-Weber syndrome
- Area of opthalmic branch of trigeminal nerve (V1)
- Intracranial or spinal vascular malformations, seizures, intracranial calcifications
Strawberry hemangiomas
- Benign proliferative vascular tumors
- 10% of infants
- First noticed a few days after birth
- Increase in size after birth
- Resolve w/i 18-24 mo
- Compromise airway or vision –> intervention
Neonatal acne
- 20% of newborns
- Appears after 1-2 wks of life
- Virtually never present at birth
- Lesions are comeones
- Inflammatory pustules & papules may be present
- No treatment necessary
What are 5 examples of newborn head abnormalities?
- Microcephaly
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematomas
- Craniosynostosis
- Craniotabes
Microcephaly
- Head circumference below 10th %ile
- Causes
- Familial
- Structural brain malformations
- Chromosomal & malformation syndromes
- Congenital infections (CMV, toxo)
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
Caput succedaneum
- Diffuse edema or swelling of soft tissue of scalp
- Crosses cranial sutures & the midline
Cephalohematomas
- Subperiosteal hemorrhages
- Secondary to birth trauma
- Confined & limited by cranial sutures
- Involve parietal or occipital bones
Craniosynostosis
- Premature fusion of the cranial sutures
- Abnormal shape & size of skull
Craniotabes
- Soft areas of the skull w/ “ping-pong ball” feel
- Occur in the parietal bones
- Not related to rickets
- Disappear w/i wks or mo
How are ears inspected in a newborn?
- Must be examined to assess maturity
- Should be firm & have characteristic shape
- Inspection for preauricular tags or sinuses
- Inspection for appropriate shape & location
What does an abnormal red reflex of the retina indicate?
- Cataracts
- Glaucoma
- Retinoblastoma
- Severe chorioretinitis
The nose should be examined immediately to rule out…….
- Unilateral or bilateral choanal atresia
- Exclude by passing NG tube through nostrils
What are 5 newborn anomalies of the mouth?
- Clefts
- Micrognathia
- Macroglossia
- Neonatal teeth
- Epstein pearls
What types of clefts can be present in the newborn?
- Clefts of the lip & soft/hard palates
- Inspection
- Submucous clefts in the soft portion of the palate
- Digital palpation
What is micrognathia?
- Small chin
-
Pierre Robin syndrome
- Micrognathia
- Cleft palate
- Glossoptosis: downward displacement or retraction of the tongue
- Obstruction of the upper airway
What can macroglossia suggest?
- Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
- Hemi-hypertrophy
- Visceromegaly
- Macroglossia
- Hypothyroidism
- Mucopolysaccharidosis
Where are neonatal teeth typically seen?
Area of the lower incisors
Epstein pearls
- Small, white epidermoid-mucoid cysts
- Found on the hard palate
- Disappear w/i a few wks
What are 5 abnormalities that can be found on neck & clavicle examination?
- Lateral neck cysts/sinuses
- Branchial cleft cysts
- Cystic hydromas
- Midline clefts or masses
- Neonatal torticollis
- Edema & webbing of the neck
- Turner syndrome
- Clavicles (rule out fractures)
What are midline clefts/masses caused by?
- Cysts of the thyroglossal duct
- Goiter
- Maternal antithyroid medication
- Transplacental passage of long-acting thyroid-stimulating antibodies
Neonatal torticollis
- Asymmetric shortening of the SCM
- Results from being in a fixed position in utero
- Postnatal hematoma from birth injury
Accessory nipples
- Anterior axillary or midclavicular lines
- May later grow due to glandular tissue
What are some examples of congenital deformities of the chest?
-
Pectus carinatum
- Prominent & bulging sternum
- Benign
-
Pectus excavatum
- Depressed sternum
- Benign
-
Chest asymmetry
- Absence of formation of ribs
- More serious
-
Poland syndrome
- Agenesis of the pectoralis muscle
- More serious
How is respiratory distress diagnosed?
- Tachypnea (RR >60 breaths/min)
- Deep respirations
- Cyanosis
- Respiratory gruntint
- Intercostal or sternal retractions
- Preterm infants: periodic breathing
- Short, apneic bursts
- <5-10 seconds
- No clinical significance
What is the cardiac exam in a newborn?
- Heart rate
- Normal: 95-180 beats/min
- Varies during feeding, sleep, crying
- Rhythm
- Assessment of murmurs & peripheral pulses
-
Diminished femoral pulses
- Coarctation of the aorta
-
Increased femoral pulses
- Patent ductus arteriosus
What are 6 possible anomalies on abdominal examination of the newborn?
- Diastasis recti
- Umbilical hernia
- Omphalocele & gastroschisis
- Persistent urachus
- Meconium plug, meconium ileus
- Abdominal mass
The umbilical cord should be inspected to confirm the presence of _______ & _______ and the absence of the ________.
2 arteries & 2 vein
absence of a urachus
1 umbilical artery = congenital renal anomalies
What is Diastasis recti?
- Separation of the L & R side of the rectus abdominus at the midline of the abdomen
- Premature & African American infants
- No treatment necessary
- Diastasis recti disappears
- Rectus abdominis muscles grow
What is an umbilical hernia?
- Incomplete closure of the umbilical ring
- Soft swelling beneath skin around umbilicus
- Protrudes during crying or straining
- African American children
- No treatment, closes spontaneously
- Persistance >4-5 YO
- Surgery
What is a persistent urachus?
- Complete failure of the urachal duct to close
- Fistula btwn bladder & umbilicus
- Urine drains from umbilicus (pressure)
Meconium plug vs. meconium ileus
-
Meconium plug
- Obstruction of the L colon & rectum
- Dense dehydrated meconium
-
Meconium ileus
- Occlusion of the distal ileum
- Inspissated (thick/dry) & viscid meconium
- Deficiency of pancreatic enzymes
- High protein content of intestinal secretions
- Manifestations of cystic fibrosis
- Delay in elimination: abd distension
- Normal meconium w/i 24 hrs of birth (90%)
- w/i 48 hrs (99%)
What can abdominal masses be caused by?
- Hydronephrosis (most common)
- Multicystic kidneys
- Ovarian cysts
- Liver on L side
- Situs inversus
- Asplenia
- Polysplenia syndrome
The anus must be examined for……
- Patency
- Soft rubber catheter
- Rectal thermometer
- Imperforate anus
What are 2 newborn abnormalities of female genitalia?
- Hypertrophied clitoris
- Hydrometrocolpos
What causes a hypertrophied clitoris?
- Virilization from androgen excess
- Virilizing adrenal hyperplasia
- Premature infants
What causes hydrometrocolpos?
- Imperforate hymen w/ retention of vaginal secretions
- Small cyst btwn labia at the time of birth [OR]
- Lower midline abdominal mass during childhood
What are 4 newborn abnormalities of male genitalia?
- Hypospadias
- Epispadias
- Hydrocele
- Cryptorchidism
What is hypospadias?
- Urethral meatus on the ventral surface of the penis in varying locations along the shaft
- Not associated w/ increased incidence of associated urinary malformations
What is epispadias?
- Urethral meatus located on the dorsal surface of the penis
- Often associated w/ bladder extrophy (bladder protrusion from the abdominal wall w/ exposure of its mucosa)
What is a hydrocele?
- Scrotal swelling caused by fluid accumulation in the tunica vaginalis adjacent to the testis
- Isolated hydroceles do not cause clinical problems usually (resolve spontaneously)
- Some hydroceles associated w/ inguinal hernias
What is cryptorchidism?
- Undescended testes
- Associated with:
- Inguinal hernia
- GU malformations
- Hypospadias
- Genetic syndromes
- Most males have testes descend spontaneously before 12 mo
- Testes that don’t descend by this age are predisposed to future malignancy
Absence or hypoplasia of the radius may be associated with……
- TAR syndrome
- Thrombocytopenia Absent Radii
- Fanconi anemia
- Holt-Oram syndrome