Paeds: Neonatology Flashcards
Neonatal Jaundice
what is jaundice
the condition of abnormally high levels of bilirubin in the blood
Neonatal Jaundice
describe the excretion of biliruibin
broken down RBCs release unconjugated bilirubin into the blood
unconjugated bilirubin is conjugated in the liver
conjugated bilirubin is excreted in 2 ways: via the biliary system into the GI tract or via the urine
Neonatal Jaundice
why does physiological jaundice occur
fetal RBCs break down more rapidly, releasing lots of bilirubin which is usually excreted by the placenta
this leads to a normal rise in bilirubin after birth
Neonatal Jaundice
how long does physiological jaundice usually last
mild yellowing of skin + sclera from 2-7d of age
usually resolves completely by 10d
Neonatal Jaundice
how can the causes of neonatal jaundice be split into
- increased production
- decreased clearance
Neonatal Jaundice
causes due to increased production of biliruibin
- haemolytic disease of the newborn
- ABO incompatibility
- haemorrhage
- intraventricular haemorrhage
- cephalo-haematoma
- polycythaemia
- sepsis + DIC
- G6PD deficiency
Neonatal Jaundice
causes due to decreased clearance of bilruibin
- prematurity
- breast milk jaundice
- neonatal cholestasis
- extrahepatic biliary atresia
- endocrine disorders (hypothyroid + hypopituitary)
- Gilbert syndrome
Neonatal Jaundice
what is a common cause of jaundice in the first 24h of life
neonatal sepsis
needs urgent inx and mnx
Neonatal Jaundice
why is physiological jaundice exaggerated in premature babies
due to the immature liver
Neonatal Jaundice
why are breastfed babies more likely to have neonatal jaundice
- components of breast milk inhibit the ability of the liver to process the bilirubin
- inadequate dehydrated breastfed babies: slow passage of stools, increasing absorption of bilirubin in the intestines
Neonatal Jaundice
what causes haemolytic disease of the newborn
incompatibility between the rhesus antigens on the surface of the RBCs of the mother and fetus
Neonatal Jaundice
pathophysiology of haemolytic disease of the newborn
pregnant rhesus D -ve woman and rhesus D +ve child
mother’s immune system recognises this rhesus D antigen as foreign and produce antibodies to the rhesus D antigen. Mother has become sensitised
subsequent pregnancy, the mother’s anti-D antibodies can cross the placenta and attach to RBCs of the rhesus D +ve fetus and cause the immune system of the fetus to attack their own RBCs
this leads to haemolysis, causing anaemia and high biliruibin levels –> haemolytic disease of the newborn
Neonatal Jaundice
what does rhesus D negative mean?
does not have the rhesus D antigen
Neonatal Jaundice
what does rhesus D positive mean
does have the rhesus D antigen
Neonatal Jaundice
what is prolonged jaundice
jaundice that lasts:
>14d in full term babies
>21d in premature babies
Neonatal Jaundice
inx
- FBC + blood film: polycythaemia or anaemia
- conjugated biliruibin
- blood test typing for ABO or rhesus incompatibility
- Direct Coombs Test
- Thyroid function
- Blood + urine cultures
- G6PD levels
Neonatal Jaundice
what do elevated conjugated bilirubin levels indicate
a hepatobiliary cause
Neonatal Jaundice
what are treatment threshold charts
in jaundiced neonates, total bilirubin levels are monitored and plotted on it
if the total bilirubin reaches the threshold on the chart, they need to be commenced on trx
Neonatal Jaundice
treatment threshold chart: what is plotted on the x axis
age of baby
Neonatal Jaundice
treatment threshold chart: what is plotted on the y axis
total bilirubin level
Neonatal Jaundice
mnx
phototherapy
if extremely high: exchange transfusion
Neonatal Jaundice
what does phototherapy do?
converts unconjugated bilirubin into isomers
that can be excreted in the bile and urine without requiring conjugation in the liver
Neonatal Jaundice
what light in phototherapy is used
blue light is the best at breaking down biliruibin
Neonatal Jaundice
what is double phototherapy
2 light boxes shining blue light on the baby’s skin
Neonatal Jaundice
once phototherapy is complete, what should be measured
a rebound bilirubin 12-18h after stopping phototherapy
Neonatal Jaundice
why do we treat neonatal jaundice
to prevent kernicterus
Neonatal Jaundice
what is kernicterus
a type of brain damage caused by excessive bilirubin levels causing direct damage to the CNS
as bilirubin can cross the blood-brain barrier
Neonatal Jaundice
how does kernicterus present
a less responsive. flopping, drowsy baby with poor feeding
damage to the CNS is permanent: Cerebral palsy, learning disability + deafness
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
meaning
hypoxia: lack of oxygen
ischaemia: restriction in blood flow to the brain
encephalopathy: malfunctioning of the brain
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
what can prolonged or severe hypoxia lead to
permanent damage to the brain causing cerebral palsy
severe HIE can result in death
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
when should you suspect HIE
when there are events that could lead to hypoxia during the perinatal or intrapartum period
acidosis (pH<7) on the umbilical artery blood gas
poor Apgar scores
features of HIE
evidence of multi organ failure
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
causes
anything that leads to asphyxia (deprivation of O2) to the brain:
- maternal shock
- intrapartum haemorrhage
- prolapsed cord: causing compression of the cord during birth
- nuchal cord: wrapped around neck of baby
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
grades (Sarnat Staging): Mild
- poor feeding, generally irritability + hyper-alert
- resolves within 24h
- normal prognosis
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
grades (Sarnat Staging): Moderate
- poor feeding, lethargic, hypotonic + seizures
- can take weeks to resolve
- up to 40% develop cerebral palsy
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
grades (Sarnat Staging): Severe
- reduced consciousness, apnoeas, flaccid + reduced or absent reflexes
- up to 50% mortality
- up to 90% develop cerebral palsy
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
mnx
neonatal specialist supportive care:
- neonatal resus + ongoing optimal ventilation
- circulatory support
- nutrition
- acid base balance
- trx of seizures
- therapeutic hypothermia
- follow up by MDT to assess development and support any lasting disability
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
what is therapeutic hypothermia
- actively cooling the core temp of the baby according to a strict protocol
- transferred to neonatal ICU using cooling blankets + cooling hat
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
therapeutic hypothermia: what is the target temp
33 and 34 degrees measured using a rectal probe
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
therapeutic hypothermia: how long is the cooling done for
72h
then baby gradually warmed to a normal temp over 6h
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
how does therapeutic hypothermia work
reduces inflammation and neurone loss after the acute hypoxic injury
Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
what does therapeutic hypothermia reduce the risk of
- cerebral palsy
- development delay
- learning disability
- blindness
- death
Prematurity
definition
birth before 37 weeks gestation
Prematurity
define extreme preterm
under 28w
Prematurity
define very preterm
28-32w
Prematurity
define moderate to late preterm
32-37w
Prematurity
when should you consider resuscitation
babies <500g or <24w gestation
as outcomes are likely to be very poor
Prematurity
associations
- social deprivation
- smoking
- alcohol
- drugs
- overweight or underweight mothers
- maternal co-morbidities
- twins
- personal or FH of prematurity
Prematurity
what are the 2 options of trying to delay birth in:
- women with a hx of preterm birth
- cervical length of ≤25mm before 24w
- prophylactic vaginal progesterone
- prophylactic cervical cerclage
Prematurity
what is cervical cerclage
putting a suture in the cervix to hold it closed
Prematurity
what are the options to improve outcomes where preterm labour is suspected or confirmed
- tocolysis with nifedipine
- maternal corticosteroids
- IV MgSO4
- delayed cord clamping or cord milking
Prematurity
what is nifedipine
a CCB that supresses labour
Prematurity
what does IV MgSO4 do
offered before 24w gestation and helps protect the baby’s brain
Prematurity
how does delayed cord clamping or cord milking help
can increase the circulating blood volume and haemoglobin in the baby
Prematurity
issues in early life
- resp distress syndrome
- hypothermia
- hypoglycaemia
- poor feeding
- apnoea + bradycardia
- neonatal jaundice
- intraventricular haemorrhage
- retinopathy of prematurity
- necrotising enterocolitis
- immature immune system and infection
Prematurity
long term effects
- chronic lung disease of prematurity
- learning + behavioural difficulties
- susceptibility to infections, esp resp
- hearing + visual impairment
- cerebral palsy
Apnoea of Prematurity
definition of apnoea
periods where breathing stops spontaneously for >20s
or shorter periods with O2 desaturation or bradycardia
Apnoea of Prematurity
apnoea is very common in ____
premature neonates
occur in almost all babies <28w
Apnoea of Prematurity
what does apnoea in term infant usually indicate
underlying pathology
Apnoea of Prematurity
cause
immaturity of the autonomic nervous system that controls respiration and heart rate
Apnoea of Prematurity
what developing illnesses is apnoea often a sign of?
- infection
- anaemia
- airway obstruction (may be positional)
- CNS pathology: seizures, haemorrhage
- GOR
- neonatal abstinence syndrome
Apnoea of Prematurity
mnx
- attach apnoea monitors to premature babies: make a sound when apnoea is occurring
- Tactile stimulation: prompts baby to restart breathing
- IV caffeine: prevents apnoea + bradycardia in babies with recurrent episodes
Apnoea of Prematurity
prognosis
episodes will settle as the baby grows and develops
Retinopathy of Prematurity
what is it
abnormal development of the blood vessels in the retina can lead to scarring, retinal detachment and blindness
typically affects babies before 32w
Retinopathy of Prematurity
pathophysiology
retinal blood vessels develop at 16w and is complete by 37-40w
vessel formation is stimulated by hypoxia (which is normal)
when retina is exposed to higher O2 concs in a preterm (supplementary O2), the stimulant for normal blood vessel development is removed
when the hypoxic environment recurs, the retina responds by producing XS blood vessels (neovascularisation) + scar tissue
these abnormal blood vessels may regress and leave the retina without a blood supply
the scar tissue may cause retinal detachment
Retinopathy of Prematurity
what are the zones that the retina is divided into?
Zone 1, 2 and 3
Retinopathy of Prematurity
retina: what is included in zone 1
optic nerve and macula
Retinopathy of Prematurity
retina: where is zone 2
from the edge of zone 1 to the ora serrata, the pigmented border between the retina and ciliary body
Retinopathy of Prematurity
retina: where is zone 3
outside the ora serrata
Retinopathy of Prematurity
how are the retinal areas described as
a clock face e.g. there is disease from 3 to 5 o’clock
Retinopathy of Prematurity
how are the areas of disease described as
from stage 1 (slightly abnormal vessel growth)
to stage 5 (complete retinal detachment)
Retinopathy of Prematurity
what does ‘plus disease’ describe
additional findings such as tortuous vessels and hazy vitreous humour
Retinopathy of Prematurity
who should be screened for RoP
babies born before 32w or under 1.5kg by an ophthalmologist
Retinopathy of Prematurity
at what age should screening start?
30-31w gestational age in babies born before 27w
4-5w of age in babies born after 27w
Retinopathy of Prematurity
how often should screening happen and when to cease?
at least every 2w
cease once the retinal vessels enter zone 3, usually at around 26w gestation
Retinopathy of Prematurity
what is involved in screening
all retinal areas need to be visualised
screening involves monitoring the retinal vessels as they develop
and looking for plus disease
Retinopathy of Prematurity
what is the aim of trx
systemically targeting areas of the retina to stop new blood vessels developing
Retinopathy of Prematurity
1st line trx
transpupillary laser photocoagulation
to halt and reverse neovascularisation
Retinopathy of Prematurity
other trx options apart from transpupillary laser photocoagulation
- cryotherapy
- injections of intravitreal VEGF inhibitors
- surgery if retinal detachment occurs
Respiratory Distress Syndrome
pathophysiology
affects premature neonates, born before the lungs start producing adequate surfactant
inadequate surfactant –> high surface tension within alveoli –>atelectasis –> inadequate gas exchange –> hypoxia, hypercapnia + resp distress