Risks from circumcision during the first month of life compared with those for uncircumcised boys

The records of 136,086 boys born in US Army hospitals from 1980 to 1985 were reviewed for indexed complications related to circumcision status during the first month of life. For 100,157 circumcised boys, there were 193 complications (0.19%). These included 62 local infections, eight cases of bacteremia, 83 incidences of hemorrhage (31 requiring ligature and three requiring transfusion), 25 instances of surgical trauma, and 20 urinary tract infections. There were no deaths or reported losses of the glans or entire penis. By contrast, the complications in the 35,929 uncircumcised infants were all related to urinary tract infections. Of the 88 boys with such infections (0.24%), 32 had concomitant bacteremia, three had meningitis, two had renal failure, and two died. The frequencies of urinary tract infection (P less than .0001) and bacteremia (P less than .0002) were significantly higher in the uncircumcised boys. Serious complications from routine prepuce removal are rare and relatively minor. Circumcision may be beneficial in reducing the occurrence of urinary tract infections and their associated sequelae.     

Coarctation of the aorta corrected during the first month of life.

Forty eight children (29 boys) had surgical correction of coarctation of the aorta during the first month of life; all had patent ductus arteriosus. The 33 survivors were reviewed at a mean age of 6.6 years. Of the 19 children with no associated anomaly, none had died. The more complex the associated anomalies, the greater the mortality. Two (6%) of the survivors, both with associated anomalies, have some residual disability; one is incapable of leading an independent life. No survivor has systemic hypertension. Six (18%) of the survivors have required correction of recurrent coarctation, and one is awaiting repair. Newborn babies suspected of having coarctation should be assessed for surgical correction without delay, and medical treatment (including, if necessary, infusion of prostaglandin E2 in a dose of 0.025 micrograms/kg/minute) should be instituted in the interim. Long term follow up is important to detect systemic hypertension or recurrence of the coarctation. This occurred in seven (21%) of our survivors.     

Reference ranges for plasma creatinine during the first month of life.

A reference range of plasma creatinine levels for the first month of life derived from 238 babies of 25-42 weeks'' gestation is presented. Measurements were performed on a Beckman Creatinine Analyser 2, which uses the Jaffé rate reaction method. There was a decline in plasma creatinine level with increasing postnatal and gestational age. Infants undergoing mechanical ventilation at age 2 days had a significantly increased creatinine level.     

Left ventricular diastolic function during the first month of life

In order to assess possible changes in myocardial relaxation occurring during the neonatal period, M-mode echocardiograms were recorded serially in 9 normal term infants and in another group of 10 one-month-old infants. The tracings were studied with an M-mode calculator. Although individual variations were greater in the data collected during the first 24 h, no significant difference was found in the indices of diastolic function of the left ventricle during the first 4 days of age. The following changes were observed between data recorded at 4 days and 1 month, respectively: normalized peak rate of left ventricle filling, 4.03 vs. 4.71 cm/s; diastolic peak velocity of early posterior motion of aortic root, 1.89 vs. 5.15 cm/s; peak velocity of left ventricle posterior wall motion in diastole, 3.31 vs. 3.50 cm/s; mitral valve EF slope, 59.05 vs. 84.92 mm/s; left ventricle isometric relaxation time, 43.88 vs. 28.50 ms. In conclusion: (1) greater individual variations are observed in indices of left ventricle diastolic function during the first day of life, and (2) significant increase in left ventricle compliance occurs during the first month of life. These changes should play a critical role in the clinical course of newborn with cardiopulmonary disease.     

Plasma creatinine in the first month of life.

The creatinine-kinetics method of analysis was used to study the changes, during the first month of life, in plasma creatinine levels in 34 newborn infants receiving no treatment with drugs. Plasma creatinine values during the first 5 days of life ranged from 188 to 17 mumol/l. After day 5 plasma levels were fairly stable throughout the first month, with a mean value of 35 +/- 2 (range 12-62) mumol/l. Twenty-two infants receiving treatment with gentamicin-ampicillin-cloxacillin were also studied. Seven of them had raised plasma creatinine concentrations after day 5, well beyond the range of concentrations found for infants receiving no drugs. Plasma creatinine, measured by the kinetic method, appears to provide a useful index of renal function in the neonatal period.     

Comparison of L-selectin and CD11b on neutrophils of adults and neonates during the first month of life

The newborn infant is particularly susceptible to infection in the first weeks of life and this may be, in part, related to functional impairment of neonatal neutrophils in regard to adherence, chemotaxis, and migration. Differences in expression of the neutrophil adherence molecules, L-selectin and CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1), have been previously demonstrated in cord blood and in very young infants (相似文献   

Left ventricle dimensions in preterm infants during the first month of life

This study was designed to evaluate left ventricle dimensions in preterm infants during the first month of life, in order to define reference values and their correlation with gestational age, birth weight, gender and baseline. Thirty-five infants, gestational age 25–29 (mean 27.9 ± 1.4) weeks, birth weight 750–1249 (mean 965 ± 206) g, were measured using echocardiography on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 of life. The following dimensions were measured: end-systolic and end-diastolic interventricular septum thickness, end-systolic and end-diastolic left ventricle posterior wall thickness, end-diastolic and end-systolic left ventricle diameter. A progressive and significant increase of all the left ventricle measurements was observed during the first month of life. Left ventricle dimensions at the first scan (Day 3) correlated with birth weight but not with gestational age and gender. The degree of the increase observed during the first month of life was inversely related to the baseline, suggesting that the smaller the left ventricle is at birth, the higher is its postnatal increase toward dimensions similar to those of term infants. Our study gives reference data about left ventricle dimensions of preterm infants during the first month of life and is helpful when making a diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in these subjects. Received: 23 March 2000 / Accepted: 11 October 2000     

Comparison of enterovirus 71 and coxsackie-virus A16 clinical illnesses during the Taiwan enterovirus epidemic, 1998

OBJECTIVES: To compare enterovirus 71 (EV 71) with coxsackievirus A16 (Cox A16) clinical illness in patients at Chang Gung Children's Hospital during Taiwan's enterovirus epidemic of 1998. METHODS: With the use of the immunofluorescence assay and neutralization test, 177 cases of EV 71 and 64 cases of Cox A16 illness were confirmed from April to September, 1998. The clinical signs and symptoms, complications and case fatality rates were compared. RESULTS: Three-fourths of the cases were younger than 3 years of age, and the ratio of males to females was 1.3 in the EV 71 group and 1.2 in the Cox A16 group. In the EV 71 group 120 (68%) cases were uncomplicated, including 94 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease and 15 cases of herpangina, and 57 (32%) cases had complications, including 13 (7.3%) cases of aseptic meningitis, 18 (10%) cases of encephalitis, 4 (2.3%) cases of polio-like syndrome, 8 (4.5%) cases of encephalomyelitis and 12 (6.8%) cases of fatal pulmonary edema. Fourteen (7.9%) patients died, including 12 cases of pulmonary edema and 2 cases of encephalitis; seven (4%) patients had sequelae. By contrast, 60 (94%) of the 64 cases of Cox A16 infection were uncomplicated and only 4 (6.3%) cases were complicated by aseptic meningitis; no fatalities or sequelae were observed. By multivariate analysis vomiting (P = 0.01) and fever higher than 39 degrees C plus lasting longer than 3 days (P = 0.02) were significantly more frequent in the EV 71 group. CONCLUSION: EV 71 illness is more severe with significantly greater frequency of serious complications and fatality than is illness caused by Cox A16.     

Prospective comparison of term small-for-gestational-age and appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates during the first month of life

Aim of the prospective study was to investigate perinatal parameters and outcome of term SGA neonates. 100 term neonates were enrolled into 2 groups: group 1: 50 SGA neonates with birth weight below tenth percentile, group 2: 50 appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates. Both groups were compared concerning parental anamnesis, perinatal parameters, postnatal adaptation and development during the first days of life. After discharge from the hospital all children were observed during the first 15 weeks. In all infants the gain of weight, length, head circumference and the amount and type of nutrition were recorded. It was observed that only 13% of the SGA neonates were small children of small parents. Most of the SGA neonates had a normal target high. We found a significantly increased number of mothers with disturbed uterine or placental perfusion in the SGA group as well as increased problems in postnatal adaptation. SGA children had a significantly faster increase of gaining weight and a higher amount of nutrition during the first 15 weeks of life. This could be an early sign of catch-up-growth in SGA neonates, which could be regard as a part of the complex risk for developing a metabolic syndrome in formerly SGA children.     

Viral pneumonia in the first month of life

We performed a 5-year review of 40 patients less than or equal to 30 days of age with viral pneumonia. Isolates included respiratory syncytial virus (55%), enteroviruses (15%), rhinoviruses (15%), adenoviruses (10%), parainfluenza virus (7.5%) and herpes simplex virus (5%). Most infants were previously healthy but had ill family members. Nine were born at less than 37 weeks of gestation. Symptoms and signs included tachypnea, decreased feeding, cough, cyanosis, lethargy, retractions, apnea, bradycardia, seizures and depressed consciousness. Seasonality and clinical features, but not radiographic patterns, suggested specific pathogens. Patients were moderately to severely ill. The median duration of hospitalization was 7 days; therapies administered included oxygen (90%), mechanical ventilation (45%), blood transfusions (25%) and supplemental oxygen after discharge (27%). The case fatality rate was 7.5%. Prematurity, ill appearance at presentation, lobar consolidation and adenovirus infection were risk factors for severe disease.     

Plasma creatinine in the first month of life

The creatinine-kinetics method of analysis was used to study the changes, during the first month of life, in plasma creatinine levels in 34 newborn infants receiving no treatment with drugs. Plasma creatinine values during the first 5 days of life ranged from 188 to 17 mumol/l. After day 5 plasma levels were fairly stable throughout the first month, with a mean value of 35 +/- 2 (range 12-62) mumol/l. Twenty-two infants receiving treatment with gentamicin-ampicillin-cloxacillin were also studied. Seven of them had raised plasma creatinine concentrations after day 5, well beyond the range of concentrations found for infants receiving no drugs. Plasma creatinine, measured by the kinetic method, appears to provide a useful index of renal function in the neonatal period.     

Plasma RANTES increase during the first month of life independently of the feeding mode

The chemokine RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) plays a significant role in the innate immunity, which is particularly important in the neonatal period. In this study, we aimed to investigate the ability of the neonate to increase plasma levels of RANTES in the first month of life, and the possible impact of breast feeding on this ability. The study population consisted of 125 healthy term neonates that were exclusively breast-fed (n = 62) or formula-fed (n = 63) for at least 1 month after birth. Plasma RANTES concentrations (ELISA) as well as circulating leukocytes and platelets were measured on days 1 and 30 of life. Median RANTES concentrations of the total group showed a significant increase between day 1 [1000 (448–2100) pg/mL] and day 30 [3688 (1488–5400) pg/mL, p < 0.0001], as did median total lymphocyte, T-cell, B-cell, NK-cell and eosinophil counts (all p values <0.0001). Monocyte and platelet counts did not change significantly over the neonatal period. Further analysis according to the mode of feeding showed that RANTES levels as well as leukocyte populations and platelet counts did not differ significantly between breast-fed and formula-fed neonates on either day 1 or 30. Healthy term neonates are capable of increasing plasma RANTES levels during the 1st month after birth independently of the mode of feeding.