• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.481-488
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• 2011

In the current era of low-birth rate in Korea, it is important to improve our neonatal intensive care and to establish an integrative system including a regional care network adequate for both high-risk pregnancies and high-risk newborn infants. Therefore, official discussion for nation-wide augmentation, proper leveling, networking, and regionalization of neonatal and perinatal care is urgently needed. In this report, I describe the status of neonatal intensive care in Korea, as well as nationwide flow of transfer of high-risk newborn infants and pregnant women, and present a short review of the regionalization of neonatal and perinatal care in the Unites States and Japan. It is necessary not only to increase the number of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds, medical resources and manpower, but also to create a strong network system with appropriate leveling of NICUs and regionalization. A systematic approach toward perinatal care, that includes both high-risk pregnancies and newborns with continuous support from the government, is also needed, which can be spearheaded through the establishment of an integrative advisory board to propel systematic care forward.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.131-136
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• 2018

This paper proposes a computer-aided diagnostic algorithm in a non-invasive way. Currently, clinical diagnosis of jaundice is performed through blood sampling. Unlike the old methods, the non-invasive method will enable parents to measure newborns' jaundice by only using their mobile phones. The proposed algorithm enables high accuracy and quick diagnosis through machine learning. In here, we used the SVM model of machine learning that learned the feature extracted through image preprocessing and we used the international jaundice research data as the test data set. As a result of applying our developed algorithm, it took about 5 seconds to diagnose jaundice and it showed a 93.4% prediction accuracy. The software is real-time diagnosed and it minimizes the infant's pain by non-invasive method and parents can easily and temporarily diagnose newborns' jaundice. In the future, we aim to use the jaundice photograph of the newborn babies' data as our test data set for more accurate results.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.141-142
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• 2013

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.348-356
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to identify correlations between the status of the umbilical cord and neonatal health status. Methods: In total, 172 newborns were enrolled who were admitted to the newborn nursery with a gestational age of 35 weeks or older and a body weight of 2 kg or above. Data were collected on the basic personal information of the newborns, the diameter and soft tissue status of the umbilical cord, and neonatal health status after birth. Analyses were performed using t-test, analysis of variance, χ² test, and Fisher exact test. Results: Umbilical cord diameter exhibited a statistically significant difference by sex (t=2.71, p=.007). A thin umbilical cord diameter was associated with a 1-minute Apgar score less than 8 points (t=2.47, p=.015) and with being transferred to the intensive care unit (t=2.45, p=.015). Poor soft tissue status of the umbilical cord was associated with a 1-minute Apgar score of less than 8 points (χ²=16.68, p<.001) and with oxygen being supplied (χ²=4.81, p=.028). Conclusion: Assessing the umbilical cord diameter and status in newborns is an important tool for evaluating neonatal health status after birth, and this point also underscores the importance of professionals' careful observations in the newborn nursery.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.201-206
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• 1999

Nitric oxide(NO) is a potent and selective pulmonary artery vasodilator. Erythropoietin(EPO) is produced in the kidney in response to reduced oxygen availability. In this study, blood samples were collected for determination of NO and EPO concentrations in 18 normal newborns and 16 newborns with respiratory distress syndrome(RDS). Serum was measured by Ding's method for NO concentration and by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay for EPO concentration. Nitric ion concentration in serum was 14.9$\pm$3.2 $\mu$M in normal control group and 12.8$\pm$3.3 $\mu$M in RDS group. EPO concentration in serum was 16.2$\pm$3.4 mU/ml in normal control group and 21.2$\pm$5.4 mU/ml in RDS group. These results show the decrease of NO and increase of EPO in RDS newborn patients in comparison with normal newborns. Such imbalances may contribute to the development of several clinical symptoms.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.177-184
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• 2014

Continuous monitoring of heart rates and respiratory rates for newborns or infants is very important since the abnormal breathing and heart problems can threaten the life of newborns or infants. A noncontact baby monitoring system based on a Doppler radar and an air mattress was designed. The Doppler radar was used to acquire respiratory signals and the air mattress was employed to obtain heart rates. The performance of the designed system was evaluated using a commercialized infant simulator ($Simbaby^{TM}$) and a respiration belt transducer was used to measure respiration rates as a reference. Results for respiratory rates revealed that the correlation coefficients between I-and Q-channel and the respiration belt were 0.84 and 0.91 and the mean ${\pm}$ standard deviations of errors between them were $1.66{\pm}1.92$ (bpm) and $0.88{\pm}1.65$ (bpm). Heart rates showed that the correlation coefficient between air mattress and set value of the simulator was 0.73 and the mean ${\pm}$ standard deviation of errors between them was $1.09{\pm}3.45$ (bpm). These results indicate that the designed system holds the potential as an effective monitoring tool for continuous monitoring heart rates and respiratory rates of newborns or infants.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.359-362
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• 2012

Objective : To investigate the effect of surgery time on prognosis of newborns with meningomyelocele. Methods : The records of neonates with meningomyelocele were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic and clinical characteristics as well as information, timing of surgery, and durations of hospital stay and antibiotic therapy were recorded. Results : The records of 30 babies were included in the final analysis. Overall, the mean gestational age was $37.7{\pm}2.7$ weeks, with a mean birth weight of $2967{\pm}755$ g and head circumference of $35.8{\pm}3.8$ cm. In terms of localization, 46.6% of the meningomyeloceles were lumbosacral, 40% were lumbar, 10% were thoracolumbar and 3.3% were thoracal. The mean size of the meningomyelocele sacs was $4.33{\pm}1.2$ cm. Newborns underwent surgery on average of $8.2{\pm}5.9$ days after birth, with an overall mean duration of hospital stay of $30{\pm}25.1$ days. Patients were divided into two groups based on timing of surgery (group 1, ${\leq}5$ days; group 2, >5 days), and comparisons between groups revealed that earlier surgery was associated with significantly shorter durations of hospital stay (p<0.001) and antibiotic therapy (p<0.05). Conclusion : Early surgical intervention (${\leq}5$ days) was associated with a shorter duration of hospital stay and antibiotic therapy as well as a lower complication rate. We recommend that corrective surgery be undertaken as soon as reasonably possible.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.9
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• pp.279-284
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the frequency of abnormalities in the newborn oral cavity and to evaluate the association with prenatal and perinatal factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 2,216 newborns. Oral findings were assessed in the first 24 hours of life using visual examination. Sex, weight, length, gestational age, and medical disorders at birth were recorded. Maternal demographic and medical information was also obtained. Results: The most common oral findings were Bohn's nodules, Epstein's pearls, and dental lamina cysts. Other intraoral findings included odontogenic cysts, ankyloglossia, and natal teeth, among others. In logistic regression analyses, folic acid consumption during pregnancy was significantly associated with Bohn's nodules (odds ratio [OR], 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-2.55; P=0.002), Epstein's pearls (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.14-2.33; P=0.007), and dental lamina cysts (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02-2.05; P=0.038). Moreover, preterm births were negatively associated with prevalence of Bohn's nodules (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.50-0.80; $P{\leq}0.0001$). Comparison between newborns with and without oral inclusion cysts showed that maternal folic acid and iron intake were significantly different (P<0.05). Conclusion: Maternal folic acid and iron intake were associated with the prevalence of oral inclusion cysts.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.162-169
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• 2014

Purpose: To study temporal pattern of serum liver enzymes levels in newborns with hepatic injury associated with birth asphyxia (BA). Methods: Singleton term newborns with BA and ${\leq}72$ hours of age admitted to neonatal intensive care unit were prospectively enrolled. Term newborns with physiological jaundice and without BA were studied as controls. Serum liver enzymes were measured at <24 hours, 24-72 hours, and at 6-12 days of age for cases and at 1-6 days of age for controls. BA was defined by 1 minute Apgar score <7 or delayed or absent cry with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. BA-associated liver injury was defined as serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation beyond +2 standard deviation (ALT > +2 SD) above the mean of control subjects at any of the three time points. Results: Sixty controls and 62 cases were enrolled. Thirty-five cases (56%) developed BA-associated liver injury (ALT>81 IU/L). They had higher serum levels of ALT, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase than the control infants, with peak at 24-72 hours. In controls, serum liver enzyme levels were significantly higher in appropriate-for-date (AFD) babies than small-for-date (SFD) babies. Serum enzyme pattern and extent of elevation were comparable between SFD and AFD babies. Degree of serum liver enzyme elevation had no relationship with severity of hypoxic encephalopathy. Conclusion: Serum liver enzyme elevation is common in BA; it peaks at 24-72 hours followed by a sharp decline by 6-12 days of age. Pattern and extent of enzyme elevation are comparable between SFD and AFD babies.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.425-434
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• 1999

The morphological studies on the cecal development in the 60-, 90-, and 120-day-old fetuses and the newborns of Korean native goats were investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results were summarized as follows ; Scanning electron microscopic studies : 1. In the 60-day-old fetuses, fold-like shapes protrusion on the cecal mucosa surface appeared. In the 90-day-old fetuses, the cecal villi appeared to be columnar shapes. In the 120-day-old fetuses, the cecal villi showed various tongue-like or columnar shapes. In the newborns, only the rudimental trace of the villi and the intestinal glands were observed. Transmission electron microscopic studies : 2. In the 60-day-old fetuses, the cecal epithelia were simple columnar in some areas and stratified columnar in others, and the epithelial cells contained nuclei, nucleoli, ER, mitochondria, Golgi complexes, zonula occludens, desmosomes, digitiform intercellular junctions, and large masses of the glycogen granules. 3. In the 90-day-old fetuses, the cecal epithelia were simple columnar in some area and stratified columnar in other. The microvilli of the cecal epithelia became much larger and longer than those in the 60-day-old fetuses, and intercellular junctions were developed, and increased numbers of ER, mitochondria, Golgi complexes were observed and the goblet cells contained a lot of the secretory granules. 4. In the 120-day-old fetuses, the cecal epithelia were only simple columnar in all areas. Microvilli and cytoplasmic organelles were well developed and the irregular annular nuclei were observed. 5. In the newborns, the cecal epithelia were covered with extensive microvilli, and the goblet cells with secretory granules were protruded into the lumen. And some goblet cells secreted the secretory granules into the lumen.