Neonatology Flashcards
(132 cards)
Remind yourself:
- Which cells produce surfactant
- When these cells start producing surfactant
- Consequences of reduced surfactant
- Type II alveolar cells
- Start maturing and producing surfactant around 24 weeks. Keep maturing, and increasing surfactant producing abilities, up until week 34
- Pre-term babies may have reduced surfactant which means there is increased surface tension in the alveoli which decreases lung compliance and can result in unequal pressures in alveoli
State some factors which contribute to clearing fluid from baby’s lungs during birth
- Baby’s thorax is squeezed through vagina
- First breath (expands the previously collapsed alveoli)
- Adrenaline & cortisol released in response to stress of labour stimulating respiratory effort
Hypoxia during birth is normal; true or false?
True, during contractions placenta unable to carry out normal gaseous exchange so hypoxia occurs
State some differences between a baby and adult that are relevant to resuscitation/must be considered
- Babies have large SA to volume ratio so get cold easily
- Born wet so loose heat quickly
- If born through meconium may have this in mouth or airway
What happens to fetal heart rate during hypoxia?
Bradycardia
Explain the APGAR score, including:
- 5 different categories
- Scores for each
Five principles of neonatal resuscitation include: warming the baby, APGAR score, stimulating breathing, inflation breaths & chest compressions.
Discuss how we keep babies warm
- Vigorous drying (also stimulates breathing)
- If <28 weeks, place in a plastic bag whilst still wet then put under heat lamp
- Keep babies warm under heat lamps
- Ensure delivery rooms are warm
Five principles of neonatal resuscitation include: warming the baby, APGAR score, stimulating breathing, inflation breaths & chest compressions.
How often should APGAR score be calculated?
- Do at 1, 5 and 10 minutes
- Indicates progress over first few minutes & helps guide resuscitation
*Lecturer said they don’t use APGAR in clinical practice
Five principles of neonatal resuscitation include: warming the baby, APGAR score, stimulating breathing, inflation breaths & chest compressions.
Discuss how we can stimulate and aid a baby’s breathing (excluding inflation breaths)
- Stimulate baby (e.g. dry vigorously with towel)
- Place head in neutral position (towel under shoulders can help)
- Check for airway obstruction (e.g. meconium) and consider aspiration if can visualise
Five principles of neonatal resuscitation include: warming the baby, APGAR score, stimulating breathing, inflation breaths & chest compressions.
Discuss the process/protocol for giving inflation breaths (i.e. when you give them and how many you give)
Give inflation breaths when gasping or not breathing
- 2 cycles of 5 inflation breaths (each lasting 3 seconds) can be given to stimulate breathing & HR
- If there is no response and HR is low, can give 30 secs of ventilation breaths
- If still no response, chest compressions coordinated with ventilation breaths should be used
**Use** **air in term or near term babies, can use mix of air & oxygen in pre-term babies.** **Monitor O2 sats throughout, do not exceed 95%.
Five principles of neonatal resuscitation include: warming the baby, APGAR score, stimulating breathing, inflation breaths & chest compressions.
Below what HR do we start chest compressions in neonates and at what ratio
- Start chest compressions if HR still <60bpm after inflation & ventilation breaths
- 3:1 with ventilation breaths
When do the current resuscitation council guidelines say you should cut the umbilical cord in uncompromised neonates?
What happens when you delay clamping of the cord?
What are advantages of delaying cord clamping?
What are disadvantages of delaying cord clamping?
- Uncompromised neonates should have delay of at least 1 minute. Neonates requiring resuscitation should have umbilical cord clamped sooner to prevent delays in resuscitation.
- At birth still a significant volume of blood in placenta and by delaying clamping of cord allow time for this blood to enter baby’s circulation ‘placental transfusion.’
- Advantages:
- Improved Hb stores
- Improved Fe stores
- Improved BP
- Reduction in intraventricular haemorrhage
- Reduction in NEC
- Disadvantages:
- Increase in neonatal jaundice (requiring more phototherapy)
Summary of neonatal life support
Talk through this graph regarding neonatal resuscitation
- Blood supply to baby is cut off
- Baby is stimulated to start breathing
- Lungs are filled with fluid… breathes, breathes and breathes but no oxygen can get into lungs so PaO2 falls
- Respiratory centre stops responding and they stop breathing so go into primary apnoea
- Spinal reflex kicks in and they start to gasp (if still in utero then still can’t get oxygen in lungs so PaO2 continues to fall and PaCO2 and acid continues to rise)
- Will stop gasping and go into terminal apnoea
- Whilst been hypoxic, HR has fallen and continues to fall
- If we then delivered them, inflated their lungs they would then start to gasp
- We would ventilate through gasping
*NOTE: when born you can’t tell if in primary or terminal apnoea. You will only know when they start to respond. When you do resuscitation, you move them backwards/left along the graph. Hence if they started breathing they were in primary apnoea and if they started gasping they were in terminal apnoea
State some important things that should happen immediately after birth
- Skin to skin
- Clamp the umbilical cord
- Dry the baby
- Keep the baby warm with a hat and blankets
- Vitamin K
- Label the baby
- Measure the weight and length
Why are babies given vitamin K?
- Babies born with vit K deficiency
- Helps prevent bleeding (particularly intracranial, umbilical stump & GI bleeding)
- Standard practice go give as IM injection in thigh (can also help to stimulate cry which helps expand lungs). Can also give PO but takes longer to act and is required at birth, day 7 and week 6
What are benefits of skin to skin contact?
- Helps warm baby
- Improves mother and baby interaction
- Calms baby
- Improves breastfeeding
What 3 tests/investigations should happen in first week of life? If relevant, state when they should be done.
- Newborn examination (within 72hrs)
- Newborn hearing test
- Blood spot test (taken on day 5, day 8 at latest)
How many drops is required from heel prick for blood spot screening test?
It tests for 9 congenital conditions; state some
- 4 drops
- Conditions it tests for:
- Sickle cell disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- Congenital hypothyroidism
- Phenylketonuria
- Homocystin
- Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD)
- Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)
- Isovaleric acidaemia (IVA)
- Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1)
*Results take 6-8 weeks to come back
State some common causative organisms of neonatal sepsis- highlight two most common
- Group B streptococcus (GBS)
- Escherichia coli
- Listeria
- Klebsiella
- Staphylococcus aureus
Do we routinely screen pregnant women for GBS in UK?
- Don’t do routine screening but do opportunistic screening
- If mother is found to have GBS in vagina (a normal commensal in women’s vaginas) then they are given prophylactic abx during labour; these must be given at least 2hrs before birth
State some risk factors for neonatal sepsis
- Vaginal GBS colonisation
- GBS sepsis in previous baby
- Maternal infection (sepsis, chorioamnionitis, fever >38)
- Prematurity
- Early/premature rupture of membrane
- Prolonged rupture of membranes
State some clinical features of neonatal sepsis
Presents with non-specific signs:
- Fever
- Reduced tone and activity
- Poor feeding
- Respiratory distress or apnoea
- Vomiting
- Tachycardia or bradycardia
- Hypoxia
- Jaundice within 24 hours
- Seizures
- Hypoglycaemia
State some red flags for neonatal sepsis
- Confirmed or suspected sepsis in the mother
- Signs of shock
- Seizures
- Term baby needing mechanical ventilation
- Respiratory distress starting more than 4 hours after birth
- Presumed sepsis in another baby in a multiple pregnancy