In all neonates with liver injury, UVC was malpositioned within the portal circulation. Despite the fact that our report provides only circumstantial evidence for the mechanism of injury, it supports reports which suggest that "low" UVC position increases potential for this type of complication. Acute onset of abdominal distension in a neonate with UVC should prompt ultrasonographic evaluation of position of the catheter tip.
Reports on the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) to counteract hemorrhagic shock in neonates and preterm infants are increasing. rFVIIa enhances thrombin generation in situations with impaired thrombin formation and, since thrombin has a crucial role in providing hemostasis, rFVIIa is regarded as a general hemostasis agent. Full thrombin generation is necessary for the formation of a stable fibrin plug resistant to premature fibrinolysis. Antifibrinolytic drugs are not recommended for the treatment of acute bleeding. We report four neonates (one with massive postsurgical hemorrhage after ileostomy and three with severe pulmonary hemorrhage in the course of mechanical ventilation for meconium aspiration syndrome, congenital heart disease and during postoperative resuscitation after cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease) who were successfully treated with multiple administration of rFVIIa (120 microg/kg per dose) and antifibrinolytic therapy - aminocaproic acid (100 mg/kg per dose). In a fibrinolytic environment therapeutic concentrations of rFVIIa may sometimes be insufficient to produce adequate amounts of thrombin necessary for stable clot structure. Laboratory data in three of our patients with pulmonary hemorrhage (low fibrinogen levels with slightly prolonged prothrombin time) supported this thesis, so we blocked fibrinolysis with aminocaproic acid and achieved a complete clinical and laboratory therapeutic effect.
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