Publications


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A Survey of the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies on Neonatal Respiratory Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Corrado Moretti, Camilla Gizzi, Luigi Gagliardi, Flavia Petrillo, Maria Luisa Ventura, Daniele Trevisanuto, Gianluca Lista, Raffaele L. Dellacà, Artur Beke, Giuseppe Buonocore, Antonia Charitou, Manuela Cucerea, Boris Filipović-Grčić, Nelly Georgieva Jeckova, Esin Koç, Joana Saldanha, Manuel Sanchez-Luna, Dalia Stoniene, Heili Varendi, Giulia Vertecchi and Fabio Mosca

CHILDREN 2024; 11, 158
Received: 22 December 2023 / Accepted: 24 January 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020158

Abstract

Background: Our survey aimed to gather information on respiratory care in Neonatal In- tensive Care Units (NICUs) in the European and Mediterranean region.

Methods: Cross-sectional electronic survey. An 89-item questionnaire focusing on the current modes, devices, and strategies em- ployed in neonatal units in the domain of respiratory care was sent to directors/heads of 528 NICUs. The adherence to the “European consensus guidelines on the management of respiratory distress syndrome” was assessed for comparison.

Results: The response rate was 75% (397/528 units). In most Delivery Rooms (DRs), full resuscitation is given from 22 to 23 weeks gestational age. A T-piece device with facial masks or short binasal prongs are commonly used for respiratory stabilization. Initial FiO2 is set as per guidelines. Most units use heated humidified gases to prevent heat loss. SpO2 and ECG monitoring are largely performed. Surfactant in the DR is preferentially given through Intubation-Surfactant-Extubation (INSURE) or Less-Invasive-Surfactant-Administration (LISA) techniques. DR caffeine is widespread. In the NICUs, most of the non-invasive modes used are nasal CPAP and nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation. Volume-targeted, synchronized intermittent positive-pressure ventilation is the preferred invasive mode to treat acute respiratory distress. Pulmonary recruitment maneuvers are common approaches. During NICU stay, surfactant administration is primarily guided by FiO2 and SpO2/FiO2 ratio, and it is mostly performed through LISA or INSURE. Steroids are used to facilitate extubation and prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Conclusions: Overall, clinical practices are in line with the 2022 European Guidelines, but there are some divergences. These data will allow stakeholders to make comparisons and to identify opportunities for improvement.


Neonatal Resuscitation Practices in Romania: A Survey of the Romanian Association of Neonatology (ANR) and the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS)

Manuela Cucerea, Marta Simon, Silvia Maria Stoicescu, Ligia Daniela Blaga, Radu Galiș, Maria Stamatin, Gabriela Olariu, Maria Livia Ognean
THE JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE 2024; 10(1)
Received: 18 October 2023 / Accepted: 8 January 2024
DOI: 10.2478jccm-2024-0010

Abstract

Introduction: This study is part of a European survey on delivery room practices endorsed by the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS) and the Romanian Association of Neonatology (ANR). The aim of our study was to evaluate the current neonatal resuscitation practices in Romanian maternity hospitals and to compare the results between level III and level II centers.

Materials and methods: The questionnaire was distributed through ANR by email link to heads of neonatal departments of 53 Romanian maternity hospitals with more than one thousand of births per year between October 2019 and September 2020, having 2018 as the reference year for data collection.

Results: The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 62.26% (33/53), 83.33% (15/18) for level-III centers and 51.43% (18/35) for level-II centers. Of the responding centers, 18 (54,54%) were academic hospitals, 15 (83,33%) were level III and 3 (16,67%) level II hospitals. In 2018, responding centers reported 81.139 births representing 42.66% of all Romanian births (190.170). There were significant differences between level-III and level-II maternity hospitals regarding the number of births in 2018 (3028.73±1258.38 vs 1983.78±769.99; P=0.006), lowest GA of routinely assisted infants in delivery room (25.07±3.03 weeks vs 30.44±3.28, P<0.001), inborn infants with BW<1500 admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in 2018 (66.86±39.14 g vs 22.87±31.50 g; P=0.002), and antenatal counseling of parents before the delivery of a very preterm infant or an infant with expected problems (60% vs 22.2%; P=0.027). There were no significant differences of thermal and umbilical cord management, positive pressure delivery, heart rate assessment between responding centers.

Conclusions: The adherence to new guidelines was high among responding centers regarding thermal and umbilical cord management, initial FiO2, but aspects like antenatal counseling, EKG monitoring, laryngeal mask, and heated/ humidified gases availability and administration, and simulation-based training require further implementation.

Neonatal resuscitation practices in Turkey: A survey of the Turkish neonatal society and the union of European neonatal and perinatal societies

Okulu E, Koç E, Erdeve Ö, et al.
TURKISH ARCHIVES OF PEDIATRICS
10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2023.22281

Abstract

Objective: Optimal care in the delivery room is important to decrease neonatal morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate neonatal resuscitation practices in Turkish centers.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey consisted of a 91-item questionnaire focused on delivery room practices in neonatal resuscitation and was sent to 50 Turkish centers. Hospitals with <2500 and those with ≥2500 births/year were compared.

Results: In 2018, approximately 240 000 births occurred at participating hospitals with a median of 2630 births/year. Participating hospitals were able to provide nasal continuous-positiveairway-pressure/high-flow nasal cannula, mechanical ventilation, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide, and therapeutic hypothermia similarly. Antenatal counseling was routinely performed on parents at 56% of all centers. A resuscitation team was present at 72% of deliveries. Umbilical cord management for both term and preterm infants was similar between centers. The rate of delayed cord clamping was approximately 60% in term and late preterm infants. Thermal management for preterm infants (<32 weeks) was similar. Hospitals had appropriate equipment with similar rates of interventions and management, except conti nuous-positive-airway-pressure and positive-end-expiratory-pressure levels (cmH2O) used in preterm infants (P = .021, and P = .032). Ethical and educational aspects were also similar.

Conclusions: This survey provided information on neonatal resuscitation practices in a sample of hospitals from all regions of Turkey and allowed us to see weaknesses in some fields. Although adherence to the guidelines was high among centers, further implementations are required in the areas of antenatal counseling, cord management, and circulation assessment in the delivery room.

Neonatal Resuscitation Practices in Italy: a Survey of the Italian Society of Neonatology (SIN) and the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS)

C. Gizzi, D. Trevisanuto, L. Gagliardi, G. Vertecchi, S. Ghirardello, S. Di Fabio, C. Moretti and F. Mosca.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-022-01260-3

Abstract

Background: Providing appropriate care at birth remains a crucial strategy for reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate the consistency of practice and the adherence to the international guidelines on neonatal resuscitation in level-I and level-II Italian birth hospitals.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional electronic survey. A 91-item questionnaire focusing on current delivery room practices in neonatal resuscitation was sent to the directors of 418 Italian neonatal facilities.
Results: The response rate was 61.7% (258/418), comprising 95.6% (110/115) from level-II and 49.0% (148/303) from level-I centres. In 2018, approximately 300,000 births occurred at the participating hospitals, with a median of 1664 births/centre in level-II and 737 births/centre in level-I hospitals. Participating level-II hospitals provided nasal-CPAP and/or high-flow nasal cannulae (100%), mechanical ventilation (99.1%), HFOV (71.0%), inhaled nitric oxide (80.0%), therapeutic hypothermia (76.4%), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ECMO (8.2%). Nasal-CPAP and/or high-flow nasal cannulae and mechanical ventilation were available in 77.7 and 21.6% of the level-I centres, respectively. Multidisciplinary antenatal counselling was routinely offered to parents at 90.0% (90) of level-II hospitals, and 57.4% (85) of level-I hospitals (p < 0.001). Laryngeal masks were available in more than 90% of participating hospitals while an end-tidal CO2 detector was available in only 20%. Significant differences between level-II and level-I centres were found in the composition of resuscitation teams for high-risk deliveries, team briefings before resuscitation, providers qualified with full resuscitation skills, self-confidence, and use of sodium bicarbonate.

Conclusions: This survey provides insight into neonatal resuscitation practices in a large sample of Italian hospitals. Overall, adherence to international guidelines on neonatal resuscitation was high, but differences in practice between the participating centres and the guidelines exist. Clinicians and stakeholders should consider this information when allocating resources and planning perinatal programs in Italy.

Variation in delivery room management of preterm infants across Europe: a survey of the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies

Camilla Gizzi, · Luigi Gagliardi · Daniele Trevisanuto · Stefano Ghirardello · Sandra Di Fabio · Artur Beke, et al. [full author details at the end of the article]
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-023-05107-9
Received: 8 April 2023 / Revised: 4 July 2023 / Accepted: 6 July 2023

Abstract

The aim of the present study, endorsed by the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS) and the Italian Soci- ety of Neonatology (SIN), was to analyze the current delivery room (DR) stabilization practices in a large sample of European birth centers that care for preterm infants with gestational age (GA)<33 weeks. Cross-sectional electronic survey was used in this study. A questionnaire focusing on the current DR practices for infants<33 weeks’ GA, divided in 6 neonatal resuscitation domains, was individually sent to the directors of European neonatal facilities, made available as a web-based link. A comparison was made between hospitals grouped into 5 geographical areas (Eastern Europe (EE), Italy (ITA), Mediterranean countries (MC), Turkey (TUR), and Western Europe (WE)) and between high- and low-volume units across Europe. Two hundred and sixty-two centers from 33 European countries responded to the survey. At the time of the survey, approximately 20,000 very low birth weight (VLBW,<1500 g) infants were admitted to the participating hospitals, with a median (IQR) of 48 (27–89) infants per center per year. Significant differences between the 5 geographical areas concerned: the volume of neonatal care, ranging from 86 (53–206) admitted VLBW infants per center per year in TUR to 35 (IQR 25–53) in MC; the umbilical cord (UC) management, being the delayed cord clamping performed in<50% of centers in EE, ITA, and MC, and the cord milking the preferred strategy in TUR; the spotty use of some body temperature control strategies, including thermal mattress mainly employed in WE, and heated humidified gases for ventilation seldom available in MC; and some of the ventilation practices, mainly in regard to the initial FiO2 for<28 weeks’ GA infants, pressures selected for ventilation, and the preferred interface to start ventilation. Specifically, 62.5% of TUR centers indicated the short binasal prongs as the preferred interface, as opposed to the face mask which is widely adopted as first choice in > 80% of the rest of the responding units; the DR surfactant administration, which ranges from 44.4% of the birth centers in MC to 87.5% in WE; and, finally, the ethical issues around the minimal GA limit to provide full resuscitation, ranging from 22 to 25 weeks across Europe. A comparison between high- and low-volume units showed significant differences in the domains of UC management and ventilation practices.

Conclusion: Current DR practice and ethical choices show similarities and divergences across Europe. Some areas of assistance, like UC management and DR ventilation strategies, would benefit of standardization. Clinicians and stakeholders should consider this information when allocating resources and planning European perinatal programs.

Breastfeeding and coronavirus disease-2019: Ad interim indications of the Italian Society of Neonatology endorsed by the Union of European Neonatal & Perinatal Societies

Riccardo Davanzo, Guido Moro, Fabrizio Sandri, Massimo Agosti, Corrado Moretti, Fabio Mosca
MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION
(First published 03/04/2020)
https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13010

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has spread to Italy with heavy consequences on public health and economics. Besides the possible consequences of COVID-19 infection on a pregnant woman and the fetus, a major concern is related to the potential effect on neonatal outcome, the appropriate management of the mother– newborn dyad, and finally the compatibility of maternal COVID-19 infection with breastfeeding. The Italian Society on Neonatology (SIN) after reviewing the limited scientific knowledge on the compatibility of breastfeeding in the COVID-19 mother and the available statements from Health Care Organizations has issued the following indications that have been endorsed by the Union of European Neonatal & Perinatal Societies (UENPS). If a mother previously identified as COVID-19 positive or under investigation for COVID-19 is asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic at delivery, rooming-in is feasible, and direct breastfeeding is advisable, under strict measures of infection control. On the contrary, when a mother with COVID-19 is too sick to care for the newborn, the neonate will be managed separately and fed fresh expressed breast milk, with no need to pasteurize it, as human milk is not believed to be a vehicle of COVID-19. We recognize that this guidance might be subject to change in the future when further knowledge will be acquired about the COVID-19 pandemic, the perinatal transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and clinical characteristics of cases of neonatal COVID-19.

Breastfeeding supportive practices in European hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Anne Merewood, Riccardo Davanzo, Maetal Haas-Kogan, Giulia Vertecchi , Camilla Gizzi, Fabio Mosca , Laura Burnham and Corrado Moretti
THE JOURNAL OF MATERNAL-FETAL & NEONATAL MEDICINE
(Published online: 13 Oct 2021)
https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2021.1986482

Abstract

Introduction: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, international recommendations and guidelines regarding breastfeeding-supportive hospital practices changed frequently. For example, some recommended separation of mothers and infants; others, feeding pumped milk instead of milk fed directly from the breast. Many recommendations were inconsistent or in direct conflict with each other. Guidance from UENPS (the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies) published in April 2020 recommended rooming in and direct breastfeeding where feasible, under strict measures of infection control, for women who were COVID-19 positive or under investigation for COVID-19.
Key findings: Our study assessed data from respondents from 124 hospitals in 22 nations, with over 1000 births per year, who completed a survey on practices during the COVID-19 epidemic, as they related to the World Health Organization (WHO) Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, considered to be the gold standard for breastfeeding support. The survey was conducted in the fall of 2020/winter of 2021. Overall 88% of responding hospitals had managed COVID positive mothers, and 7% had treated over 50 birthing women with confirmed COVID-19. The biggest change to hospital policy related to visitation policies, with 38% of hospitals disallowing all visitors for birthing women, and 19% shortening the postpartum stay. Eight hospitals (6%) recommended formula feeding instead of breastfeeding for women who tested positive for COVID-19 or were under investigation, whereas 73% continued to recommend direct, exclusive breastfeeding, but with some form of protection such as a mask or hand sanitizer for the mother or cleaning the breast before the feed. While 6% of hospitals discontinued rooming in, 31% strengthened their rooming in policy (keeping mothers and their babies together in the same room) to protect infants against possible exposure to the virus elsewhere in the hospital . Overall, 72% of hospitals used their country’s national guidelines when making policy, 31% used WHO guidelines and 22% UENPS/SIN guidelines. Many European hospitals relied on more than one accredited source.
Discussion: Our most concerning finding was that 6% of hospitals recommended formula feeding for COVID positive mothers, a measure that was later shown to be potentially harmful, as protection against the virus is transmitted through human milk. It is encouraging to note that a third of hospitals strengthened rooming in measures. Especially given the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the situation around postnatal care in maternity hospitals requires ongoing monitoring and may require proactive investment to regain pre-COVID era practices.

Neonatal resuscitation practices in Europe: a survey of the Union of European Neonatal & Perinatal Societies

Daniele Trevisanuto, Camilla Gizzi, Luigi Gagliardi, Stefano Ghirardello, Sandra Di Fabio, ,Arthur Beke, Giuseppe Buonocore, Antonia Charitou, Manuela Cucerea, Marina Degtyareva, Boris Filipović-Grčić, Nelly Georgieva Jekova, Esin Koç, Joana Saldanha, Manuel Sanchez Luna, Dalia Stoniene, Heili Varendi, Giulia Vertecchi, Fabio Mosca, Corrado Moretti, on behalf of the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS) Study Committee
NEONATOLOGY
(Published online: 20 Jan 2022)
https://doi.org/10.1159/000520617

Abstract

Background: We aimed to evaluate the policies and practices about neonatal resuscitation in a large sample of European hospitals.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional electronic survey. A 91-item questionnaire focusing on the current delivery room practices in neonatal resuscitation domains was individually sent to the directors of 730 European neonatal facilities or (in 5 countries) made available as a Web-based link. A comparison was made between hospitals with ≤2,000 and those with >2,000 births/year and between hospitals in 5 European areas (Eastern Europe, Italy, Mediterranean countries, Turkey, and Western Europe).
Results: The response rate was 57% and included participants from 33 European countries. In 2018, approximately 1.27 million births occurred at the participating hospitals, with a median of 1,900 births/center (interquartile range: 1,400-3,000). Routine antenatal counseling (p < 0.05), the presence of a resuscitation team at all deliveries (p < 0.01), umbilical cord management (p < 0.01), practices for thermal management (p < 0.05), and heart rate monitoring (p < 0.01) were significantly different between hospitals with ≤2,000 births/ year and those with >2,000 births/year. Ethical and educational aspects were similar between hospitals with low and high birth volumes. Significant variance in practice, ethical decision-making, and training programs were found between hospitals in 5 different European areas.
Conclusions: Several recommendations about available equipment and clinical practices recommended by the international guide- lines are already implemented by centers in Europe, but a large variance still persists. Clinicians and stakeholders should consider this information when allocating resources and planning European perinatal programs.

Joint declaration on Ukraine

Read the full Joint Declaration by European Societies and Associations on the protection of children, mothers, and pregnant women in Ukraine.
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