73 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The primary objective is to assess weight gain of VLBW infants fed human milk supplemented with a novel human milk-based fortifier, in comparison to use of other fortifiers (historic controls).
The purpose of this study is to use forced oscillometry technique (FOT) to measure pulmonary mechanics and function in in term infants and premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
The purpose of this observational study is to measure pulmonary function in term and preterm infants with and without pulmonary disease including respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, transient tachypnea of the newborn, meconium aspiration syndrome, and response to treatments given to newborn infants with lung diseases using a non-invasive airway oscillometry system.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is used in premature infants to maintain lungs open and facilitate gas exchange. When ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatch is present, areas of the lung that are open for gas exchange do not match up with the areas of the lung that are receiving blood for gas exchange. This study measure the responsiveness of V/Q mismatch to changes in the amount (or level) of CPAP.
Hospitalized children with respiratory disease are commonly monitored with continuous pulse oximetry and heart rate-respiratory rate monitors. These data streams generate \>4,000 unique data points each patient-day, yet only a tiny fraction are used to inform care decisions. Failure to adequately summarize this large amount of data for clinicians may result in suboptimal care because clinicians may miss important data signals and may under- or over-react to individual data points. In children hospitalized with respiratory disease and in need of supplemental oxygen, there are a number of care decisions, currently made without adequate data, which could be informed by intelligent data visualization tools. This study has employed user-centered design to develop data displays that inform nurses' and respiratory therapists' decision-making in supplemental oxygen delivery. The investigators are now evaluating the effectiveness of these displays in the clinical care of patients with two common respiratory conditions-infants with bronchiolitis admitted to the general pediatrics ward and preterm infants requiring supplemental oxygen who are cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit. By reducing patient's time on supplemental oxygen and improving time with optimal oxygen saturations, this work has the potential to lead to a breakthrough innovation that improves both outcomes and value.
Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord (DCC) has been shown to have some benefits for preterm infants. Initiation of breathing before cord clamping is also thought to be beneficial. Since some preterm infants do not breathe well on their own immediately after birth, assisting ventilation during delayed cord clamping might have additional benefit beyond DCC alone. "VentFirst Pilot" will assess feasibility and safety of assisting ventilation of preterm infants during 90 seconds of DCC which is essential before proceeding to a randomized clinical trial.
In preterm infants fed human milk, milk needs to be fortified to meet nutrient recommendations. Fortification can be 1) standard, 2) individualized (adjusted based on daily human milk nutrient analysis and milk volume), or 3) optimized (adjusted based on growth rate and serum analyses). The first specific aim will determine whether individualized and optimized nutrition during hospitalization results in improved growth in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in extremely low gestational age (GA) neonates (ELGANs, \<29 weeks) and in small for GA (SGA, birth weight \<10th percentile for GA) preterm infants compared with optimized nutrition. The second specific aim will determine whether individualized and optimized nutrition in the NICU improves neurodevelopmental outcomes (acquisition of development milestones) and reduces the risk of disproportionate growth (i.e., excess fat) in the NICU and findings suggestive of metabolic syndrome in the first 3 years of life.
The primary aims of this randomized controlled trial are to evaluate efficacy potential of SPEEDI at enhancing reaching and play based problem solving compared to infants receiving usual care.
Preterm infants face many feeding challenges during hospitalization which can prolong hospitalization, raise parental anxiety and can lead to medical instability. The Feeding Progression study will randomize preterm infants to one of two currently accepted oral feeding schedules; oral feed attempts every 3 hours or every 6 hours. The study will collect data on oral feeding success, milk transfer, sucking strength, growth and medical complications.
Alterations to microvascular blood flow in premature infants, are known to contribute to several major disease entities. The optically-measured tissue blood flow, to determine tissue perfusion that can be use to detect blood loss.
There is an increasing incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) affecting the premature infant population, principally those with associated risk like extreme prematurity, extreme low birth weight, associated co-morbidities (Congenital heart disease, perinatal asphyxia) and those born in hospitals with limited resources for optimal neonatal care. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), has been used in premature infants to evaluate changes in cerebral perfusion and oxygenation. (1) It provides real time insight into the oxygen delivery.(3) In the premature patient population, many neurologic injuries occur as a result of prenatal (pre-existing) and/or postnatal disturbance on oxygen delivery. NIRS has been focused in cerebral monitoring. Light easily penetrates through neonatal bone and skin tissue, and allows to monitor the subjacent oxygen content. Early studies were performed to validate NIRS measurements and have established normative data.(4-6) The non-invasive method of monitoring cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation has revolutionized the intensive care units in patients at risk for neurological injuries. This method has been successfully validated to monitor neonatal cerebral oxygenation in different clinical settings and study protocols. (7) NIRS provides non-invasive, continuous information on tissue perfusion and oxygen dynamics. One of the biggest challenges of NEC spectrum diseases is in the making of early diagnosis. It is important to monitor not just cerebral perfusion but also the intestinal oxygenation.(8,9) Previous studies with NIRS have demonstrated that premature infants change their cerebral - splanchnic oxygenation ratios during feedings.(10) Guy et al. performed NIRS in premature piglets to demonstrate association of perfusion change with NEC spectrum(11,12); these studies suggest evidence that NIRS could be a useful diagnostic tool in the premature infant population trough abdominal NIRS (a-NIRS) measurement capable of detecting alterations in intestinal oxygenation and perfusion. In summary, a-NIRS could be use in the premature infant population to define reference values, especially in patients at risk, which would then facilitate the early diagnosis of NEC spectrum diseases.
Infants born prematurely or with complex congenital abnormalities are surviving to discharge in growing numbers and often require significant monitoring and coordination of care in the ambulatory setting. The specific aims of this project are to determine the effectiveness of a redesigned discharge process that includes a Health Coach and an expanded discharge binder to improve health outcomes in the post discharge follow-up period as compared with usual care. The outcomes to be evaluated include the occurrence of adverse events in the post-discharge period, quality of follow up care, and caregiver satisfaction with the process.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the growth of the lung and how easily gas can be taken up by the lung in healthy infants born at full term without any breathing problems and infants born prematurely.
Feeding difficulties and airway related consequences contribute significantly to the infant mortality and morbidity. Some of these problems may be dependent on neural control and muscular function. Prematurity, congenital anomalies and perinatal depression represent three important conditions in infants, that may have feeding and airway difficulties.Development of motility of the foregut and the adaptation during normal and disease in developing infants is unclear.
The primary participant will be an infant with single ventricle heart disease. This is a research study to learn more about how the medication digoxin, which is routinely prescribed to infants and children with heart disease in pediatric cardiac intensive care units is processed by their bodies and how it may help their cardiac function. The investigators will collect blood or will collect blood samples when bloodwork is checked as part of regular care ("opportunistic"). The investigators will also collect information from medical records. Being part of this study will not change treatment plan or medications. The risks of this study include loss of confidentiality and risks associated with having blood drawn. The study team will make every effort to minimize these risks.
This study will test the hypothesis that in preterm infants a caregiver-implemented early developmental intervention (EDI) using finger puppets to develop joint attention and encourage interactive communication with routine EDI care including Bookworm training compared with routine EDI care including Bookworm training alone will increase the Ages and Stages Questionnaire® score at 12 months corrected age.
The objective of the proposed research is to conduct a within-subject cross-over trial that will compare the efficacy of the two bottle-feeding positions on physiologic and behavioral responses of preterm infants prior to, during, and after feeding. As an exploratory aim, the investigators will also identify potential infant characteristics associated with the intervention response by evaluating infant sex, maturity level, and/or comorbidity. The two bottle-feeding positions will be the semi-elevated side-lying position (hereafter referred to as side-lying position) and the semi-elevated supine position (hereafter referred to as supine position), which is the traditional feeding position when preterm infants are bottle-fed. The investigators hypothesize that compared to the supine position, the side-lying position will be associated with greater physiologic stability in heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and/or autonomic nervous system regulation during and after feeding. The investigators also hypothesize that compared to the supine position, the side-lying position will be associated with more mature patterns of suck-breathe coordination and/or greater feeding skills.
Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is used in premature infants receiving mechanical ventilation to maintain lungs open and facilitate gas exchange. When ventilation/perfusion mismatch is present, areas of the lung that are open for gas exchange do not match up with areas of the lung that are receiving blood for gas exchange. This study measures the feasibility of enrolling and completing study maneuvers in premature infants for a prospective study measuring the responsiveness of V/Q mismatch to changes in the amount (or level) of PEEP.
This is a single-assignment study to evaluate whether Omegaven (IV fish oil) is effective at treating liver disease in children on long-term IV nutrition.
Advances in newborn intensive care have lead to dramatic improvements in survival for the most premature infants-often weighing 1 pound at birth. Unfortunately, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and developmental delay affect more than 10,000 of these premature infants in the U.S. annually. In his studies, Dr. Jeffrey R. Kaiser is trying to understand why these premature infants are at such high risk of brain injury, and to learn ways to prevent injury. Experts believe that disturbances of brain blood flow regulation are important in causing these injuries. Using a novel continuous monitoring system, Dr. Kaiser is able to determine an infant's capacity for normal brain blood flow regulation. Contrary to previous thinking, he has shown that many of these babies in fact due have normal regulation of their brain blood flow. He has observed that brain blood flow may be disturbed during suctioning of the breathing tube. Further, he has also shown that infants with high carbon dioxide, those not breathing well, have impaired regulation of their brain blood flow. Thus, even stable infants are prone to disturbed brain regulation during routine intensive care, which may lead to bleeding in the brain and long-term neurologic problems. Dr. Kaiser will study up to 200 infants to determine 1) the developmental pattern of normal regulation of cerebral blood flow; 2) in those with impaired regulation, determine when it develops during the first week of life; and 3) determine the relationship between impaired brain blood flow regulation and brain injury. Results from this study will help us recognize when premature infants are most vulnerable to developing brain injury, allowing prevention and intervention strategies to be initiated in a timely fashion.
The purpose of this study is to learn how early language exposure may be related to changes in DNA in parents and their premature infants. While a person's genetic code is determined at the time of conception, the way that some genes are expressed in the body can be changed even after an individual is born. These changes are called epigenetic changes. In this study, the investigators want to learn about the epigenetic changes that happen after a premature baby is born and whether a parent's interaction with their baby can influence these epigenetic changes. The investigators will look at epigenetic changes by collecting saliva samples from parents and their preterm babies, here defined as babies born at \<33 weeks gestation. Specifically, the investigators will be looking at salivary levels of DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm). The investigators will track changes in OXTRm levels over time in parents and their babies and see if these levels change in relation to how much time parents spend with their babies and how much time they spend reading to their babies. The investigators will ask mothers and, if desired, their partners to read to their babies for at least 15 minutes per week. The investigators will ask them to track time spent with the baby and reading time on a log, and will also measure word count with a commercially-available LENA device. The investigators will use logistic regression analysis to identify the independent association between OXTR DNA methylation and time spent with parent(s) and word count.
The purpose of this study is to refine and pilot test a mobile health (mHealth), video-based family management program for parents of preterm infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). By moving beyond the basic infant care tasks taught by parenting programs and instead comprehensively training parents to use evidence-based family management skills, we hypothesize that our intervention, called PREEMIE PROGRESS, will better equip parents to meet the chronic, complex healthcare needs of their preterm infant.
The use of non-invasive methods of respiratory support to reduce complications of prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation in preterm infants has increased. The most common mode is nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation (NIMV). In NIMV, the interval between mechanical breaths is fixed and is determined by the frequency dialed by the clinician. Asynchrony between the infant's spontaneous breathing may exist since mechanical breaths delivered at fixed intervals can occur at different times over the inspiratory or expiratory phases of the infant's spontaneous breathing. Synchronized-NIMV is a mode similar to NIMV where the ventilator cycle is delivered in synchrony with the infant's spontaneous inspiration. This has been achieved by using techniques to detect the infant's spontaneous inspiration. The advantages or disadvantages of synchronized compared to non-synchronized NIMV remain to be determined. This study seeks to evaluate the effect of synchronized NIMV versus non-synchronized NIMV on ventilation and gas exchange in premature infants who require supplemental oxygen. The hypothesis is that the use of flow synchronized nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation (S-NIMV) in comparison to non-synchronized NIMV will improve ventilation and gas exchange and reduce breathing effort. The objective of the study is to compare the effect of flow synchronized-NIMV to non-synchronized-NIMV on tidal volume (VT), minute ventilation (VE), gas exchange, breathing effort, apnea and chest wall distortion in preterm neonates with lung disease.
Feeding advancements in ELBW infants have evolved over decades. The fear of causing mortality and morbidity, notably NEC, have made providers cautious when advancing feeds. ELBW infants initially remained NPO for several days before initiating trophic feeds. However, data then showed that there was no increase in mortality and morbidity if trophic feeds were initiated earlier. Then data showed that a short duration of trophic feeds did not increase mortality and morbidity when compared to a prolonged duration. More recent data showed that enteral feeding should be initiated early, preferably within 24 hours of birth, because it may promote feeding tolerance, shorten the time to reach total enteral feeding, and reduce the incidence of extrauterine growth restriction and late onset sepsis without increasing the risk of developing NEC. The management of enteral nutrition in ELBW infants is still very variable. For example, there is no consensus on the optimal time point after birth at which enteral nutrition can be started. This study evaluates the benefits of starting feeds by 6 hours of life Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to evaluate if in infants ≤ 1000g birth weight, is there a benefit initiating feeds by 6 hours of life (compared to current feeding practice data of 3 days of life) on decreasing the time to attain full feeds in the first 30 days of life. The secondary aim is to evaluate if antenatal feeding discussions would streamline feeding management post-delivery.
This observational study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of a new infant feeding tool called "SMART Tool" in the neonatal intensive care unit. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. To design a feeding tool to assess oral motor and neurobehavioral skills in neonates 2. To establish psychometrics of the new tool by doing reliability and validity tests.
Subjects will use the Gabi system on a daily basis for 3 months, each time the subject is resting or asleep. The Gabi system will recording the SpO2, pulse rate, respiratory rate and movements of the subject. The objective of this study is to perform a first assessment of the range of most potentially clinically relevant indications for use of the Gabi system for children \< 6 years old with underlying medical conditions. This is performed by asking HCPs to review the data measured by the Gabi system after taking a medical decision independently from the Gabi data and to assess the potential clinical utility of the Gabi system. The usability of the system will also be assessed throughout questionnaires filled out by the HCPs and by the caregivers. \*During this study, the data collected by the Gabi system are not intended to be used by caregivers or HCPs to take any (medical) decisions.
Since the first description of citrulline as a potential marker for intestinal function in 1998, its use has been investigated in a variety of disease processes including Short Bowel Syndrome, Celiac disease, chemotherapy and radiation induced intestinal injury, infections producing intestinal cytopathic effects like Adenovirus, and predicting rejection in intestinal transplantation. The use of citrulline levels as a diagnostic tool to predict gastrointestinal disease in the premature population has not been properly addressed. The introduction of enteral nutrition in the premature infant is a process of trial and error, knowing that the immaturity of the gastrointestinal system may lead to frequent episodes of feeding intolerance. This is augmented by the fear of the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) once feeds are commenced. NEC is a condition characterized by disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier, a pathogenic process shared with some of the conditions mentioned above for which citrulline has proven clinically useful. A normal pattern of citrulline production has not been established in the premature population. Previous studies have shown decreased levels of glutamine and arginine in premature infants up to 10 days prior to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. Glutamine and arginine are two amino acids closely involved in the synthesis and catabolism of citrulline. The investigators therefore hypothesize that defining a normal pattern of citrulline production in the premature population may prove to be a clinically useful diagnostic tool to screen for gastrointestinal disease.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of fundoplication in premature infants with GERD and BPD.
To determine whether or not inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) safely decreases the incidence of chronic lung disease (CLD) in premature infants.
A Pilot study to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of endotracheal instillation of pulmonary surfactant, with or without topical steroid (Budesonide), as a prophylactic treatment for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (a form of chronic lung disease) in extremely low birth weight infants. Cytokines (a group of inflammatory mediators) are measured in the tracheal aspirate before and after instillation of the study drugs.