KEY POINTS 1. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is acquired in the postnatal period primarily from mother’s milk feeding. 2. Postnatal CMV (pCMV) infection is usually asymptomatic in healthy term infants. Among very low birth weight (VLBW, birth weight <1500 g) infants,…
KEY POINTS 1. Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections can cause potentially devastating infections in newborn infants. 2. HSV has a double-stranded linear DNA genome and is seen in two variants, HSV-type 1 and HSV-type 2. 3. Neonatal HSV infections…
KEY POINTS 1. Late-onset sepsis in the neonatal intensive care unit is defined by culture-confirmed infection ≥72 hours after birth. 2. Incidence is highest among preterm infants. 3. The pathophysiology involves colonization with perinatally and/or hospital-acquired organisms, with transition to…
KEY POINTS 1. Early-onset sepsis (EOS) is defined by blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid culture-confirmed infection occurring 0 to 6 days after birth. 2. Incidence is highest among preterm infants, particularly those born with low gestational ages and with birth weight…
KEY POINTS 1. Disorders of sex development (DSD) is an umbrella term referring to the large collection of conditions in which establishment of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex development is atypical. 2. Estimates of the prevalence of DSD vary widely,…
KEY POINTS 1. Disorders of mineral homeostasis in the neonatal period are often exaggerated responses to the normal physiologic transition. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is the principal regulator of postnatal calcium metabolism, with vitamin D and its metabolites involved in the…
KEY POINTS 1. Normal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis production of cortisol and a normal renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis are needed for the normal regulation of volume status, blood pressure, and serum sodium, potassium and glucose levels in the neonate. Disorders of these axes…
KEY POINTS 1. Thyroid hormone signaling is required for both normal fetal and pediatric development. 2. The identification of genes critical for thyroid gland development and migration and thyroid hormone metabolism, transport, and receptor function has revealed that derangement of…
KEY POINTS 1. Congenital pituitary hormone deficiencies can be caused by maldevelopment of central brain structures, acute injury, and pituitary gene mutation. 2. The anterior pituitary is composed of four distinct cell types that produce five different hormones. 3. Understanding…
KEY POINTS 1. Diabetes in pregnant women can be visualized in two distinct subsets: 1% to 2% of women have pregestational disease, whereas 6% to 9% develop diabetes during pregnancy. 2. In mothers with pregestational or early-onset diabetes, placental vasculopathy…