In KwaZulu-Natal, the survival of
VLBW infants has increased over the last two decades.
The care disparities reported here warrant the attention of managers in high-black hospitals, which care for seven of ten black
VLBW infants (Lake et al.
Of 317 adults studied, the female-to-male ratio was 1.2 in the
VLBW group and 1.8 in controls (P = 0.11).
The study shows that, even at very low or extreme gestational age or at
VLBW and ELBW, there is the possibility of obtaining a suitable milk production from both a quantitative and qualitative point of view.
We also recommend allocation of resources to the training of midwives, ambulance staff and paramedics on resuscitation and early management of
VLBW neonates who are delivered outside level 3 care to improve their ultimate outcomes.
It is important information for counselling of parents of VP and
VLBW children dealing with disability and schooling problems in childhood."
However, there is no reason to believe that these factors are really able to affect the outcome for the following reasons: (a) mean values of gestational age and birth weight remain under 32 weeks and 1500 g, respectively, for both groups and, thus, both groups fall within the limits of age (very preterm) and weight (
VLBW) of the neonatal categories which were the object of consideration; (b) different values of head circumference are fully consistent with differences in gestational age and birth weight; and, finally, (c) bronchopulmonary dysplasia is not known from literature as a factor capable of significantly affecting the number of days of assisted ventilation (in turn, days of assisted ventilation were not found capable of affecting outcome, as shown in Table 3).
In the present study, we have demonstrated for the first time that a low birth weight z score and a high UA-RI are significant risk factors for severe hypophosphatemia during the early postnatal period in
VLBW infants.
The authors conclude confirming the efficacy of iv paracetamol for PDA closure in
VLBW and ELBW preterm population and they also suggest the oral route seems to be valid but not recommended for such infants, showing intestinal mucosa immaturity with consequent unpredictable absorption.
The study produced a collection of interesting findings, most of which suggested a high degree of success in reducing the rate of NEC among
VLBW infants.