• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.85-88
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• 2009

The amniotic band syndrome is an uncommon congenital fetal abnormality, presumably due to fetal entanglement in strands of ruptured amniotic sac. The defects caused by this syndrome vary from simple limb defects to major visceral and craniofacial defects. We cared for a newborn infant with this syndrome, who showed constriction rings of the right leg and right axilla, right club foot, thoracic scoliosis, polydactyly, absence of the right thumb and aplasia cutis of the scalp. We report this case with a brief review of the literature.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.332-337
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• 2013

Purpose: To identify the frequency of bacterial isolates in early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) and their antimicrobial resistance pattern. Methods: A retrospective study of EONS was conducted at the Beni Suef University Hospital from September 2008 to September 2012. A case of EONS was defined as an infant who had clinical signs of infection or who was born to a mother with risk factors for infection, and in whom blood culture obtained within 72 hours of life grew a bacterial pathogen. Results: Of 673 neonates screened, there were 138 positive blood cultures (20.5%) (confirmed EONS). Of the recovered isolates, 86.2% were gram-negative pathogens. Klebsiella pneumoniae (42.8%), Enterobacter cloacae (22.5%), and Escherichia coli (13.8%) were the commonest isolated organisms. The most common gram-positive microorganism was Staphylococcus aureus accounting for only 12 isolates (8.7%). All Klebsiella isolates and 93% of Enterobacter isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Gram-negative pathogens had the maximum overall sensitivity to imipenem, cefepime, and ciprofloxacin; whereas, gram-positive isolates were most susceptible to vancomycin, imipenem, and piperacillin. Conclusion: K. pneumoniae was the predominant causative bacteria of EONS followed by E. cloacae and E. coli. There was a high resistance to ampicillin. Imipenem had the maximum overall activity against the causative bacteria. Continuous surveillance is needed to monitor the changing epidemiology of pathogens and antibiotic sensitivity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.812-822
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• 2014

Metagenomic analysis of the human intestinal microbiota has extended our understanding of the role of these bacteria in improving human intestinal health; however, a number of reports have shown that current total fecal DNA extraction methods and 16S rRNA universal primer sets could affect the species coverage and resolution of these analyses. Here, we improved the extraction method for total DNA from human fecal samples by optimization of the lysis buffer, boiling time (10 min), and bead-beating time (0 min). In addition, we developed a new long-range 16S rRNA universal PCR primer set targeting the V6 to V9 regions with a 580 bp DNA product length. This new 16S rRNA primer set was evaluated by comparison with two previously developed 16S rRNA universal primer sets and showed high species coverage and resolution. The optimized total fecal DNA extraction method and newly designed long-range 16S rRNA universal primer set will be useful for the highly accurate metagenomic analysis of adult and infant intestinal microbiota with minimization of any bias.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.215-221
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• 2011

Purpose: Newborns routinely experience pain associated with invasive procedures such as blood sampling, venipuncture, heelstick, or venous cannulation. This study was done to provide data for a nursing intervention to alleviate newborn pain clinically by investigating the effect of local anesthetic cream during venipuncture. Methods: Participants were 70 newborns hospitalized in the nursery. Informed Consent was obtained from parents of the newborns. Venipuncture for regular blood sampling was carried out for a test on 2 groups; the experimental, placebo group. The neonatal infant pain scale (NIPS), and duration of crying were measured to assess pain reaction. All neonatal behaviors were recorded on videotape. Results: There were significant differences in pain behavior during venipuncture (t=-4.752, p<.001), immediately after sampling (t=-5.591, p<.001), 3 minutes after puncture (t=-2.469, p=.017), and in duration of crying (t=-3.005, p=.004). Conclusion: Results show that local administration of EMLA cream before venipuncture causes a reduction in neonatal pain response, indicating that the EMLA cream has the effect of pain relief.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.55-60
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acoustic characteristics of crying infants according to the communication intents such as hunger and pain in terms of acoustic differences in the fundamental frequency ($F_0$), jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio(NHR), habitual pitch, and intensity. The subjects were 20 healthy, normal infants, less than seven days old, from the city of Seoul and were born after 38 to 42 weeks(full term) of pregnancy. The sound of crying was recorded for three minutes. The crying due to pain was induced by means of the inborn metabolism error test, whereas the crying due to hunger was verified by means of the rooting reflex by waiting for the designated eating time. The results were as follows: (1) the fundamental frequency, noise-to-harmonic ratio(NHR), and intensity of the infants' crying due to pain was higher than that by hunger, showing a significant difference between the mean values. (2) the infants' crying due to hunger and that by pain did not have a significant difference in the mean jitter and shimmer values but both of them were largely outside of the normal threshold values(jitter by 1.04% and shimmer by 3.81%). This study was significant in the sense that it showed the acoustic characteristics of infants' crying from hunger and pain were very different from each other according to the communication intents in terms of the six acoustic parameters.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2009

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) and extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) in Korea on 14 reports from 1984 to 2008 were analyzed. Follow-up rates were varied from 42.9% to 90.2%. Duration of follow-up ranged from 4 months to 5 years. The prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) of VLBWI was as follows: 4.3-5.3% in 1980s, 7.1-9.1 % in 1990s and 3.6-15.6% in 2000s. CP was noted in 8.2-30.8% of ELBWI on studies reported in 2000s. Delayed Mental development was diagnosed in 2.0-17.9% of VLBWI and in 20.4-30.8% of ELBWI. Sensory impairments such as hearing loss or visual deficit were reported in 3.1-3.6% of VLBWI and 0.0-10.0% of ELBWI. Seizure disorder was reported in 5.3% of VLBWI by one report. No reports for minor neurodevelopmental dysfunctions in VLBWI and ELBWI were found from 1984 to 2008. It is necessary to establish basic protocols and nationwide systems for long-term follow-up study to obtain valuable data.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.363-367
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• 2011

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are regularly used in intensive care units, and catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) remains a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections, particularly in preterm infants. Increased survival rate of extremely-low-birth-weight infants can be partly attributed to routine practice of CVC placement. The most common types of CVCs used in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) include umbilical venous catheters, peripherally inserted central catheters, and tunneled catheters. CRBSI is defined as a laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection (BSI) with either a positive catheter tip culture or a positive blood culture drawn from the CVC. BSIs most frequently result from pathogens such as gram-positive cocci, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and sometimes gram-negative organisms. CRBSIs are usually associated with several risk factors, including prolonged catheter placement, femoral access, low birth weight, and young gestational age. Most NICUs have a strategy for catheter insertion and maintenance designed to decrease CRBSIs. Specific interventions slightly differ between NICUs, particularly with regard to the types of disinfectants used for hand hygiene and appropriate skin care for the infant. In conclusion, infection rates can be reduced by the application of strict protocols for the placement and maintenance of CVCs and the education of NICU physicians and nurses.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.251-256
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• 2014

Severe intraventricular hemorrhaging (IVH) in premature infants and subsequent posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) causes significant mortality and life-long neurological complications, including seizures, cerebral palsy, and developmental retardation. However, there are currently no effective therapies for neonatal IVH. The pathogenesis of PHH has been mainly explained by inflammation within the subarachnoid spaces due to the hemolysis of extravasated blood after IVH. Obliterative arachnoiditis, induced by inflammatory responses, impairs cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) resorption and subsequently leads to the development of PHH with ensuing brain damage. Increasing evidence has demonstrated potent immunomodulating abilities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in various brain injury models. Recent reports of MSC transplantation in an IVH model of newborn rats demonstrated that intraventricular transplantation of MSCs downregulated the inflammatory cytokines in CSF and attenuated progressive PHH. In addition, MSC transplantation mitigated the brain damages that ensue after IVH and PHH, including reactive gliosis, cell death, delayed myelination, and impaired behavioral functions. These findings suggest that MSCs are promising therapeutic agents for neuroprotection in preterm infants with severe IVH.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.148-152
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• 2011

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, but life-threatening infection. Prompt diagnosis and early aggressive intervention is required for survival. However, there has been frequently occurred in delays of diagnosis and treatment due to its non-specific nature. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is needed to ensure timely intervention. We report a case of necrotizing fasciitis in a 7-day-old term healthy neonate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.59 no.7
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• pp.1-16
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• 2009

This study is on the children's clothing in Seoul Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheong-do and Gangwon-do between the $1920s{\sim}1950s$, by comparing positive data collected from pictures and literatures, remains and interviews. A baenaet jeogori was made of soft white cotton fabrics and was used as a charm when the baby had grown and had an test or a big occasion. A dureong chima and pungcha trousers were clothes for both boys and girls from their birth to the age of $4{\sim}5$ when they could have bowel movements by themselves. Occasions for celebrating a baby's growth were the one-hundredth day and the first birthday. In general, ordinary families had their babies' one-hundredth day in a simple way without special clothes. On the first birthday, however, even ordinary families prepared new clothes for their babies, and read their fortune and prayed for their well being and long life through events such as doljabi. In the age when medicine was poor and the infant mortality was high, the meaning of such a ceremony was to congratulate on the baby's safe growth through dangerous moments.