Background: Preterm birth is associated with increased stress of parents that might influence the parental-child interaction, thus potentially having influence on the neurobehavioral development of the preterm infants. However, little is known concerning the age dependency of parental stress after preterm birth.Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the age dependency of stress in mothers and fathers after preterm birth and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission of their infant.Methods: In a prospective observational pilot study 47 mothers and 47 fathers completed the parental stress scale:NICU (PSS:NICU) questionnaire within 72 h after delivery. This questionnaire measures parental stress after preterm birth with three subscales: “Looks and Behave” of the child, “Parental Role Alteration,” and “Sights and Sounds.” Stress levels of mothers and fathers were compared and correlated to the age of mothers and fathers, respectively.Results: Parental stress experience after preterm birth tended to be higher in mothers compared to fathers. Mothers showed a significant positive correlation of the “Sights and Sounds” scale and age, whereas fathers did not show any significant age dependency of stress.Conclusion: In mothers stress level increases with increasing maternal age after preterm birth and admission of their infant to NICU, whereas fathers did not show any significant age dependency of stress.

IntroductionUp to 50% of preterm infants admitted to intensive care units require cardiocirculatory support. The aim of the present study was to assess whether simultaneous monitoring of cerebral tissue oxygenation index (cTOI) and peripheral tissue oxygenation index (pTOI) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in combination with dedicated intervention guidelines may help avoiding arterial hypotension and catecholamine administration in preterm neonates.Study designPreterm neonates <37 weeks of gestation were included in a single center randomized controlled study. Blood pressure was measured non-invasively or invasively. In the NIRS group, simultaneous cTOI and pTOI monitoring was used starting within 6 h after birth for 24 h to calculate changes in cTOI/pTOI ratio over time. Depending on these changes, interventions including echocardiography, administration of volume or patent ductus arteriosus treatment were performed. In the control group, only routine monitoring and treatment were performed and NIRS signals were not visible. The primary outcome was burden of hypotension within 48 h after initiation of NIRS monitoring.Results49 preterm neonates were included in each group: NIRS group 33.1 (32.0–34.0) (median: 25–75 centile) weeks of gestation and control group 33.4 (32.3–34.3) weeks of gestation. In the NIRS group, echocardiography was performed in 17 preterm neonates due to NIRS measurements, whereby six neonates received further treatment. Percentage of neonates with any hypotensive episode during the 48-h observational period was 32.6% in the NIRS group and 44.9% in the control group (p = 0.214). Burden of hypotension (i.e., %mmHg of mean arterial pressure < gestational age) was 0.0 (0.0–2.1) mmHg h in the NIRS group and 0.4 (0.0–3.3) mmHg h in the control group (p = 0.313), with observed burden of hypotension being low in both groups. No severe adverse reactions were observed.ConclusionIn preterm neonates using simultaneous peripheral and cerebral NIRS measurements for early detection of centralization followed by predefined interventions led to a non-significant reduction in burden of arterial hypotension.Clinical Trial Registration, identifier: NCT01910467.

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Tactile stimulation was applied in different ways to preterm and term infants during neonatal transition and SpO showed a significant increase in preterm infants.

Aim Cardiac function is a major factor for tissue perfusion and therefore may affect the tissue oxygen saturation. Aim was to analyse possible associations between cardiac function parameters and cerebral and peripheral tissue oxygenation in neonates on the first day after birth. Methods For the present study, we analysed secondary outcome parameters of a previously performed prospective single centre observational study. The prospective study was conducted at the Medical University of Graz, Austria between September 2011 and June 2013. We included preterm and term neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and in whom simultaneous near‐infrared spectroscopy measurements and echocardiography were obtained on the first day after birth. Cardiac function parameters were correlated to cerebral and peripheral tissue oxygen saturation and cerebral and peripheral fractional tissue oxygen extraction at the time of echocardiography. Results A total of 60 neonates of whom 47 were preterm and 13 were term (median gestational age: 34; IQR 33‐35 weeks, mean birth weight: 2276 ± 774 grams) were included. There were no statistically significant correlations between cardiac function parameters and regional tissue oxygenation parameters. Conclusion In the present study, we found no correlation between regional tissue oxygenation and parameters of cardiac function in cardio‐circulatory stable neonates on the first day after birth.