Defining a blood glucose treatment threshold for neonatal hypoglycemia

Expanding the role for umbilical cord blood gas analysis – a clinical study

The downside of oxygen therapy examined in critically ill children

Plasma sodium concentration is normally maintained within the approximate reference range of 135-145 mmol/L. Raised plasma sodium (hypernatremia) is less common than reduced plasma sodium (hyponatremia), and severe hypernatremia (usually defined as plasma sodium >160 mmol/L) is rare but associated with potential for...

Reduced blood glucose (hypoglycemia) is common during the hours and days following birth. This so-called neonatal hypoglycemia may be transitory and asymptomatic but can result in a range of acute symptoms. If sufficiently prolonged, the condition is associated with risk of irreversible neurological (brain) damage....

The physiological stress response to critical illness and trauma determines that transiently raised blood glucose (hyperglycemia) is common among those admitted to intensive care, irrespective of their diabetes status. Much research has been directed at establishing whether or not intensive insulin therapy aimed at...

The blood gas analyzer has an established role in the delivery suite of obstetric units. Measurement of umbilical cord blood pH and base excess provides objective evidence of the metabolic condition of newborn babies at the moment of birth.  Specifically, it allows identification of those with significant metabolic...

Phototherapy, the standard treatment for neonatal jaundice, is guided by age-related serum bilirubin concentration; the older the baby, the higher is the recommended triggering serum bilirubin concentration. So that for example, UK guidelines state that for a full-term baby who is 12 hours old, phototherapy should be ...

The importance of monitoring blood glucose concentration of premature babies in the hours and days following birth is highlighted by this recently published clinical study. Although it is well established that prematurity is associated with increased risk of both hyperglycemia (increased blood glucose) and...

A clinical requirement for determination of the pH and base deficit (BD) of umbilical-cord arterial blood has ensured a role for the blood gas analyzer in the delivery suite of obstetric units.  The principal objective of this testing in the minutes immediately after birth is to identify those babies who have been...