Objective: The aim of the study was to determine if time to initial enteral feeding (EF) and rate of advancement are associated with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) or death. Methods: Secondary analysis of prospectively collected data of very-lowbirth-weight infants (VLBWI: 400-1500 g) born in 26 NEOCOSUR centers between 2000 and 2014. Results: Among 12,387 VLBWI, 83.7% survived without NEC, 6.6% developed NEC and survived, and 9.6% had NEC and died or died without NEC (NEC/death). After risk adjustment, time to initial EF (median ¼ 2 days) was not associated with NEC; however, delaying it was protective for NEC/death (odds ratio [OR] ¼ 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93-0.99). A slower feeding advancement rate (FAR) was protective for NEC (OR ¼ 0.97; 95% CI ¼ 0.94-0.98) and for NEC/death (OR ¼ 0.98; 95% CI ¼ 0.96-0.99). Conclusions: In VLBWI, there was no association between an early initial EF and NEC, although delaying it was associated with less NEC/death. A slower FAR was associated with lower risk of both outcomes.

Objective. The aim of our study is to describe the effects of vasopressin on term infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension under a standardized protocol. Study Design: In 2019, we designed a standardized protocol for the management of refractory hypotension in the context of pulmonary hypertension, which included the use of vasopressin. This is a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic outcomes of patients who required vasopressin in the context of this new protocol in a referral level IV neonatal intensive care unit. Results: We included 48 neonates with a median gestational age of 37 weeks in a period of 30 months (December 2019 to May 2022). Congenital diaphragmatic hernia was the main cause of persistent pulmonary hypertension in this cohort (82%). All patients were on mechanical ventilation and receiving inhaled nitric oxide. In our cohort at 4 hours after initiation of vasopressin, blood pressure, serum pH, and urinary output increased significantly. The vasoactive inotropic score, lactate and oxygenation index decreased. Echocardiographic follow-up also showed a decrease in the relative pressure of the right ventricle and an improvement in the cardiac output of both ventricles. There were no episodes of severe hyponatremia (<120 mmol/L). Discussion: This study showed that the use of vasopressin in neonates with persistent pulmonary hypertension and refractory systemic hypotension was associated with a rapid and significant improvement in oxygenation and hemodynamic markers of perfusion, including blood pressure. This association was early during the first hours of treatment and vasopressin was safely withdrawn after a median of 3 days of treatment.

Introduction. Mortality in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs) has remained at ~26% in the past 16 years in the NEOCOSUR Neonatal Network. Objective. To determine the cause of death of VLBWIs and its temporality in the 2007-2016 period in the NEOCOSUR Neonatal Network.Population and methods. Observational, multicenter cohort study; retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively. Newborn infants born between 24 and 31+6 weeks of gestation age with a birth weight between 500 and 1500 g in the 26 sites of the NEOCOSUR Neonatal Network were included. The causes of death were analyzed depending on whether they occurred in the delivery room (DR) or in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The postnatal age at time of death was determined using the Kaplan-Meier test. Results. A total of 11 753 VLBWIs were included; overall mortality was 25.6%. The prevailing causes of death in the DR were congenital malformations (43.3%), respiratory diseases (14.3%), and prematurity (11.4%). The prevailing causes of death in the NICU were respiratory diseases (24.2%) and infections (24.1%). The average and median age at death were 10.2 and 4 days, respectively. Also, 10.2% of deaths occurred in the DR; 21.5% on day 1, 52% in the first 4 days, and 63.8% in the first week of life. Conclusions. Important differences were observed in the causes of death of VLBWIs depending on their occurrence in the DR or the NICU. Infectious and respiratory conditions were the most relevant factors following admission to the NICU.

Objectives:To evaluate growth (weight, length, head circumference, and knee–heel length [KHL]) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (500–1500 g) who received human milk with a liquid fortifier (LHMF) with high protein and fatty acid content versus a traditional powder fortifier (PHMF) for 45 days or until discharge.Methods:This was a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed to determine adverse events and withdrawal causes. We also performed an efficacy analysis involving the infants who completed at least 2 weeks of study.Results:Of the 158 infants enrolled in the study, 146 completed at least 2 weeks, and 125 completed the entire study. The biodemographic characteristics were similar between groups, with no differences in increments of weight (22.9 vs 22.7 g kg−1 day−1), length (1.03 vs 1.09 cm/week), head circumference (0.91 vs 0.90 cm/week), or KHL (3.6 vs 3.3 mm/week). The KHL increment was greater in infants weighing >1 kg receiving LHMF (3.7 vs 3.2 mm/week, P = 0.027). Although there were no significant differences in serious adverse events, the incidence difference of the composite outcome death/necrotizing enterocolitis between groups warrants attention (1.3% with LHMF and 8.1% with PHMF).Conclusion:There were no differences in the overall growth between VLBW infants receiving either fortifier.