Neonatal Medicine News

A 13-month-old male with a history of moderately severe eczema, diagnosed in early infancy, awoke with an exacerbation of his rash with subjective fever. He had been somewhat fussy for the previous 2 days, but his appetite was unchanged. His usual medications include Cetaphil (a water-based moisturizer lotion) and Aquaphor as a barrier ointment. However, because of this exacerbation, his parents sought the advice of a neighbor, who also has a child with mild eczema and who had just recovered from a case of hand-foot-and-mouth (HFM) disease. The neighbor suggested using some of her leftover “white lotion” that she had used to treat her child’s HFM disease. This lotion was applied to the patient at bedtime. The next morning, the patient felt more febrile and the rash was much worse, with numerous “bumps all over,” which prompted a visit to the local community hospital ER, where a temperature of 102.2°F was confirmed. Thinking the child may have progressive erythema multiforme or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), he was given a dose of IV vancomycin and transferred to our children’s hospital PICU.

Rotavirus vaccination in southern China reduces the likelihood of rotavirus gastroenteritis among children 4 years and younger, with herd effects observed in some areas, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. However, this vaccine is not included in the country’s national immunization programs.

Maternal antenatal anxiety was associated with increased risk for multiple negative perinatal outcomes, including preterm birth, lower mean birth weight and earlier gestational age, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

A previous recommendation made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, suggesting that all pregnant women receive screening for syphilis early in pregnancy has been reaffirmed. This guidance was rated with a grade A.

An inexpensive finger-prick test for toxoplasmosis in pregnant women has demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity, according to research published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The test, according to researchers, costs only $4 to $5.

The AAP has issued a clinical report highlighting the outcomes of children born to mothers who use marijuana during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This report, the researchers said, is a response to the increasing number of pregnant and nonpregnant women who use the drug.

Study results published in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicated that quetiapine exposure during first-trimester pregnancy was not strongly associated with major malformation in infants.

Researchers found that two baby monitors using pulse oximetry had inconsistent performance in detecting hypoxemia and pulse rates.

Although most American infants are exclusively breastfed after birth, only one in four are exclusively breastfed by 6 months of age, according to the CDC’s 2018 Breastfeeding Report Card. The organization noted that while areas of improvement exist, over half of the Healthy People 2020 goals related to breastfeeding have been met.

The use of prenatal and postnatal vitamin D supplementation in mothers living in Bangladesh did not improve infant growth outcomes by 1 year of age, according to findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine.