It is suspected that infants whose birth weight is very low and have to undergo major surgery could have an increased risk of death or subsequent neurodevelopmental impairment.
Bottom Line: Very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) babies who undergo major surgery appear to have an increased risk of death or subsequent neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI).
Low Birth Weight Babies Suffer Significant Health Compromise
Low Birth Weight (LBW) infants suffer significant perinatal compromise. LBW is a key issue in public health, especially for developing countries.
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Author: Frank H. Morriss, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and colleagues.
Background: Some animal studies suggest general anesthesia for surgery can increase the risk for neurocognitive or behavioral deficits. This has raised some concerns about exposing infants to general anesthesia for surgery.
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How the Study Was Conducted: The authors examined the association between very-low-birth-weight infants who underwent surgery and the risk for death or NDI. Surgery was classified as major (the administration of general anesthesia) or minor (without general anesthesia). The study included patients enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network Generic Database from 1998 through 2009. A total of 12,111 infants were included in the analyses.
Results: A total of 2,186 infants underwent major surgery, 784 had minor surgery and 9,141 had no surgery. Most infants who underwent surgery did so once, but 1,080 had multiple procedures. Very-low-birth-weight infants who underwent major surgery appeared to have a more than 50 percent increased risk of death or NDI at 18 to 22 months of age. However, in the present analysis, the specific type of anesthesia used was not documented and data on dosing and other drugs administered were not available.
Discussion: "Exposure of VLBW infants to major surgery is associated with increased risk of death or NDI and of NDI among survivors, each by approximately 50%. The contribution of general anesthesia to this effect is suspected but not yet proven."
Source: Eurekalert
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How the Study Was Conducted: The authors examined the association between very-low-birth-weight infants who underwent surgery and the risk for death or NDI. Surgery was classified as major (the administration of general anesthesia) or minor (without general anesthesia). The study included patients enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network Generic Database from 1998 through 2009. A total of 12,111 infants were included in the analyses.
Results: A total of 2,186 infants underwent major surgery, 784 had minor surgery and 9,141 had no surgery. Most infants who underwent surgery did so once, but 1,080 had multiple procedures. Very-low-birth-weight infants who underwent major surgery appeared to have a more than 50 percent increased risk of death or NDI at 18 to 22 months of age. However, in the present analysis, the specific type of anesthesia used was not documented and data on dosing and other drugs administered were not available.
Discussion: "Exposure of VLBW infants to major surgery is associated with increased risk of death or NDI and of NDI among survivors, each by approximately 50%. The contribution of general anesthesia to this effect is suspected but not yet proven."
Source: Eurekalert
Pre Eclampsia
In pre eclampsia a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and proteinuria during pregnancy.
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 Health at 3 and 5 Years of Age Depends on Gestational AgeGestational age refers to the age of the embryo or fetus. It begins from 14 days before fertilization of the ovum. In other words, it is the duration since the woman's last menstruation. | Advertisement
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