Key Points Kidney development continues until 34 weeks’ gestation. Neonatal intensive care unit graduates, especially those with a history of acute kidney injury (AKI), premature infants, and those with intrauterine growth retardation, are at risk for long-term chronic kidney disease…
Key Points Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in critically ill neonates. AKI affects survival, hospital expenditures, and long-term outcomes, independent of the severity of illness and comorbidities. Kidney development continues until 34 weeks’ gestation. Neonatal intensive care unit graduates,…
Key Points A voiding cystourethrogram should be performed in infants with high-grade hydronephrosis or bilateral hydronephrosis. Vesicoureteral reflux is more common in male infants and has a high rate of spontaneous resolution. Bladder exstrophy repairs are currently delayed to 3…
Key Points Kidney malformations account for 20% to 30% of all prenatally diagnosed developmental anomalies and are responsible for 31% of all childhood end-stage kidney disease. Patients with unilateral kidney agenesis are at risk for hypertension in childhood and chronic…
Key Points Renal organogenesis is a complex interaction between gene stimulation of planned growth and complementary apoptosis, allowing appropriate development of the functioning renal organ system, vascular bed, and intertwined genital system. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is critical to normal…
Key Points The spectrum of malignancies in neonates differs from that in children. Malignancies in neonates are often associated with a genetic predisposition. Neuroblastoma and leukemia are the most common malignancies in neonates. Cancer treatment in neonates poses unique challenges,…
Key Points Early clinical jaundice or rapidly developing hyperbilirubinemia is often a sign of hemolysis, the differential diagnosis of which commonly includes immune-mediated disorders, red cell enzyme deficiencies, and red cell membrane defects. Knowledge of the maternal blood type and…
Key Points The neonate and the young infant depend primarily on the innate immune system for host defense. With limited prior exposure to infectious and environmental antigens, the adaptive immune arm is still in a phase of structural and functional…
Key Points Recent multicenter randomized trials support more conservative transfusion approaches with the use of lower hemoglobin and platelet count thresholds. Two multicenter clinical trials did not show improvement in survival without neurodevelopmental impairment or other important outcomes with the…
Key Points Erythropoiesis occurs in stages or waves during embryonic development, initiating in the yolk sac, migrating to the liver, and finally to the bone marrow. The sites of erythropoietin production also transition during development from the neuronal cells to…