Neonate
A newborn or neonate is an infant who is only hours, days, or up to a few weeks old.
In medical contexts, newborn or neonate (from Latin, neonatus, newborn) refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth; the term applies to premature infants, postmature infants, and full-term neonates. Before birth, the term fetus is used.
Rhee et al. reviewed neonate pressure autoregulation and autoregulation monitoring techniques with a focus on brain protection. Current clinical therapies have failed to fully prevent permanent brain injury in neonates. Adjuvant treatments that support and optimize autoregulation may improve neurologic outcomes 1).
Awareness of risk factors for the development of hydrocephalus in newborn infants with germinal matrix hemorrhage should be emphasized in order to enable an early diagnosis of ventriculomegaly and symptomatic hydrocephalus and thus make a correct therapeutic decision 2).
The neonatal state of infants can be quantitatively and automatically evaluated using video cameras, and the activity level can be used to determine an appropriate time for procedures in infants. This will reduce the burden on medical staff and lead to less stressful procedures for infants 3).
Complications
Classification
Neonates can be classified based on gestational age (preterm, late preterm, term, post term), birthweight (extremely low birthweight [ELBW], very low birthweight [VLBW], low birthweight [LBW], etc.), and gestational age and birthweight combined (small for gestational age [SGA], appropriate for gestational age [AGA], …
Case series
A retrospective study was conducted on neonates born from January 2021-June 2022, excluding those with specific conditions. Evaluated factors included GA, birth weight, bilirubin levels, Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and feeding type, with phototherapy given as per AAP guidelines. Of 1085 neonates, 356 met the criteria. When stratifying the neonates based on the need for phototherapy, a higher proportion of early-term neonates required phototherapy compared to full-term (p < 0.05). After factoring in various risks (GA; birth weight; gender; feeding type; G6PD deficiency; transcutaneous bilirubin levels at 24 h and 24-48 h postpartum; maternal diabetes; and the presence of caput succedaneum or cephalohematoma), early-term neonates were more likely to need phototherapy than full-term babies (OR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.21 to 3.80). The optimal cut-off for transcutaneous bilirubin levels 24-48 h postpartum that were used to predict phototherapy need was 9.85 mg/dl. In conclusion, early-term neonates are at a greater risk for developing jaundice and requiring phototherapy than full-term neonates. Monitoring bilirubin 24-48 h postpartum enhances early prediction and intervention 4).