Introduction Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are faced with several debilitating diseases that significantly increase the rates of morbidity and mortality. Many of these illnesses are not greatly understood, and many theories have been postulated in terms…
This chapter discusses common presentations of surgical emergencies in the newborn. Frequently encountered scenarios are presented as a descriptive case followed by a discussion and explanation of the disease process and treatment options. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most commonly…
Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of prematurity. Despite the term referring to hemorrhage within the ventricle, it encompasses hemorrhage confined to the germinal matrix (grade I), extension to lateral ventricles without (grade II) or with (grade III) ventricular…
Video 19.1 Benign Neonatal Seizure Introduction Seizure incidence is at its highest in the neonatal period, estimated at 1 to 3 per 1000 term neonates and 10 times higher for preterm/low birth weight newborns ( ). Most cases are considered…
The etiology of neonatal renal failure encompasses both chronic conditions such as congenital defects of the kidney and urinary tract and acute insults such as hypoxia, ischemia, or drug toxicity leading to acute kidney injury (AKI) ( ). AKI in…
The fetus is in a state of physiologic pulmonary hypertension. The PaO 2 in the descending aorta of the fetus is approximately 20 to 25 mm Hg with an oxygen saturation (Sa o 2 ) of 55% to 58% (…
Introduction Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) have structural defects of the heart and/or great vessels that are present before birth. Defects range from relatively simple lesions, which neither induce symptoms nor need therapy, to complex life-threatening lesions, which require…
Introduction Hypotension of the premature newborn is a condition commonly encountered in the neonatal intensive care setting. Although no definite cut-off values exist in considering a given newborn to be hypotensive, certain blood pressure ranges will cause significant anxiety among…
While the fetus remains in utero, the ductus arteriosus is an essential component of the circulation, permitting blood to flow right to left from the pulmonary artery to the descending aorta, bypassing the fluid-filled lungs and returning to the placenta…
Introduction Sepsis is the illness resulting from systemic bacterial or (less commonly) fungal infection. It is an ever-present threat in the NICU, accounting for approximately 10% of infant deaths under 1 month of age worldwide ( ) and contributing significantly…