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NICU

The Nurse Perception of Infant Condition (NPIC) Scale: A Tool for NICU Nurses to Evaluate Neonatal Wellbeing
 The Nurse Perception of Infant Condition (NPIC) Scale: A Tool for NICU Nurses to Evaluate Neonatal Wellbeing 1024 683 Jessica Nye, PhD
By: Jessica Nye, PhD
Baby in NICU

Investigators from Nationwide Children’s Hospital developed a tool for nurses to use when assessing a neonate’s wellbeing, called the Nurse Perception of Infant Condition (NPIC) Scale. “For neonates, it was hard to find a scale that was relevant and would allow us to measure anything for research,” says Christine A. Fortney, PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN,…

Higher Respiratory Severity Scores Associated with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension Risk
 Higher Respiratory Severity Scores Associated with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension Risk 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

The RSS score is noninvasive and may be clinically useful for risk stratification in extremely preterm infants. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s report that elevations in the respiratory severity score were correlated with an increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants. This study identifies a pragmatic clinical risk score that can be measured…

What Are the Risk Factors for Recurrent Wheezing in Late Preterm Infants?
 What Are the Risk Factors for Recurrent Wheezing in Late Preterm Infants? 1024 683 Pam Georgiana
By: Pam Georgiana

A collaboration between a pulmonary medicine fellow and allergy and immunology expert identifies four risk factors associated with recurrent wheezing in these patients.   When Brooke R. Gustafson, MD, a member of the Section of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Nationwide Children’s and an assistant professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine,…

Expanding Access to Genomic Testing in Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Units
 Expanding Access to Genomic Testing in Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Units 1024 575 Pam Georgiana
By: Pam Georgiana
conceptual art of DNA

Recent study identifies variations in availability and highlights opportunities to improve access to genomic testing in the United States and Canada. In the Nationwide Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit, patients needing rapid genome sequencing can get it on demand without administrative approval. However, that is not the case in all level IV neonatal intensive…

Kidney Support for Babies: Building a Comprehensive and Integrated Neonatal Kidney Support Therapy Program
 Kidney Support for Babies: Building a Comprehensive and Integrated Neonatal Kidney Support Therapy Program 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck
Nurse caring for infant in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Kidney support therapy (KST), commonly referred to as dialysis, is a life-saving procedure used to manage complications associated with acute kidney injury and kidney failure, such as fluid overload and electrolyte imbalances, or to remove toxins, such as those in patients with inborn errors of metabolism. Most KST or dialysis machines are designed for adults…

Shorter Course of Antibiotics for Early Onset Sepsis as Safe as Longer Course
 Shorter Course of Antibiotics for Early Onset Sepsis as Safe as Longer Course 150 150 Jessica Nye, PhD
By: Jessica Nye, PhD

Discontinuing empirical antibiotic therapy for early-onset sepsis (EOS) at 24 hours had a similar safety profile as the standard 48-hour treatment course. “In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), we have data to show that each additional day of unnecessary antibiotics leads to adverse side effects, both short term while in the NICU and some…

Advancing Genomics-Driven Precision Medicine in the NICU
 Advancing Genomics-Driven Precision Medicine in the NICU 1024 683 Natalie Wilson
By: Natalie Wilson

According to the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium, as many as half of newborns hospitalized in level IV neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) due to critical illness have an underlying genetic condition. Most don’t get their diagnosis for months or even years. However, clinical assays, new testing modalities and clinical trials are improving their care. Advanced…

Using Machine Learning in the Electronic Medical Record to Save Lives
 Using Machine Learning in the Electronic Medical Record to Save Lives 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller
physicians in white coats looking at a tablet

The deterioration risk index identifies patients at risk for deterioration and poor outcomes, triggering the care team to act before a crisis happens. In a report published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, a team from Nationwide Children’s Hospital describes a machine learning tool for timely identification of hospitalized children at risk for deterioration – a…

Featured Researcher — Jonathan Slaughter, MD, MPH
 Featured Researcher — Jonathan Slaughter, MD, MPH 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Jonathan Slaughter, MD, MPH, neonatologist and principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, works to identify best practices and reduce treatment variation to improve neonatal clinical care and outcomes. His career took off when, after casually observing practice variation across the institutions where he received training, he noticed that preterm…

Nephrotoxic Medications in the NICU
 Nephrotoxic Medications in the NICU 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD
Nurse caring for infant in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

New study shows treatment with nephrotoxic medications in newborns is associated with the development of acute kidney injury, yet remains common. A multicenter analysis of nearly 50 pediatric hospitals showed that newborns are commonly treated with nephrotoxic medications and, troublingly, the prevalence of acute kidney injury is higher in newborns treated with these drugs. The…

Quality Improvement Scorecard Enhances Safety for Newborns
 Quality Improvement Scorecard Enhances Safety for Newborns 1024 683 Emily Siebenmorgen
By: Emily Siebenmorgen

The collaborative program between academic and community hospitals improves neonatal care quality. In a recent study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and affiliated level one and two community hospital nurseries implemented a quality improvement (QI) scorecard and found improvements in important perinatal outcomes. “Roughly half of all newborns in…

Nafcillin is a Safe Alternative to Vancomycin for Empirical Treatment of Late-Onset Sepsis Among Infants in the NICU
 Nafcillin is a Safe Alternative to Vancomycin for Empirical Treatment of Late-Onset Sepsis Among Infants in the NICU 1024 681 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD
sleeping infant

Guidelines to reduce vancomycin use at three Ohio NICUs did not impact mortality rate. In 2014, the Neonatal Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital recommended nafcillin rather than vancomycin for empirical therapy of possible late-onset sepsis in infants without a history of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection or colonization. In a new study, researchers…