Active clinical trials for "Enterocolitis"

Bacterial infections are a major cause of death in newborn infants. And are linked to complications including: sepsis (an over exaggerated immune response to infection) and necrotising enterocolitis (a potentially fatal inflammatory bowel disease). Detecting infections at an early stage is difficult in newborns as the signs and symptoms can be non-specific, the most commonly used lab test is to culture a sample of blood, urine or spinal fluid to try and grow and identify any bacteria that is present; however these tests take 24-48 hours to give results, and this means that neonates who present with signs of infection are prescribed broad spectrum antibiotics whilst results are obtained. The lack of a test that can detect infection at an early stage and give rapid results is one of the major problems in the diagnosis and management of infection in newborns. This study will investigate neutrophils, which are white blood cells that are important in fighting infection. When neutrophils detect and infection they become activated, and produce a protein called CD64 (a cell marker) on their surface, and it is this protein that we want to measure. Neutrophils produce the CD64 protein within 1 hour of first detecting an infection, so we could hopefully detect and treat infections much quicker. The hypothesis this study will test are: Does neutrophil membrane CD64 measurement provide a highly sensitive and specific marker of infection in neonates AND: Does neutrophil membrane CD64 measurement provide a highly sensitive and specific marker of NEC in neonates

Manganese (Mn) is an essential metal required for normal growth and development. However, exposure to high Mn levels can be toxic to the brain. The objectives of this project are to identify neonatal and young pediatric populations that are at increased risk of excessive brain Mn deposition and altered cognitive and motor development based on their dietary parenteral Mn exposure, and to make sound and evidence-based recommendations for appropriate Mn supplementation and monitoring of infants and young children receiving parenteral nutrition (PN). Our studies are designed to test the hypotheses that, compared with unexposed age-matched controls, infants and young children receiving prolonged Mn-supplemented PN will have increased deposition of Mn in their brains and lower scores on neurodevelopmental, cognitive and psychophysiological assessments.

The study will assess the efficacy of Docosahexaenoic Acid in reducing the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants.

Study around very-low birthweight preterm infants at high risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) or late-onset sepsis (LOS). Collection of stool and other biological samples to assess the strain-level stability of gastrointestinal microbiota in these preterm infants who may or may not develop NEC/LOS.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of probiotic administration on TPN dependence in infants < 32 weeks GA and BW 1500 grams or less in the Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix and Banner Children's at Desert Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). The primary endpoint of capturing the number of days of TPN administration can reflect that an infant is progressing towards readiness for the initiation or advancement of enteral feedings at an earlier interval. The relationship between probiotic administration and the incidence of NEC, culture positive sepsis, and mortality is of interest to us and will be captured. Finally, the assessment of the tolerance of probiotic administration and the potential positive impact on growth and development in these premature infants may validate our current practices.

Prematurely born infants with ductal-dependent congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Abnormal left to right blood flow through a patent ductus arteriosus can cause intestinal ischemia and compromise the gastrointestinal tract as a barrier to infection. In some infants, bacterial translocation leads to NEC which may result in death, intestinal perforation, cholestasis and, at the very least, feeding problems. Predicting which infants with CHD will develop NEC will potentially decrease the severity of disease if interventions were started earlier. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) allows determination of regional oxygen saturation levels in tissues such as brain, kidney, and as recently reported, intestine. This study will test whether or not decreasing intestinal oxygen saturations can predict the development of NEC in this at risk population before the symptoms become severe. NIRS probes will be placed on the forehead, flank and abdomen of eligible infants and regional oxygen saturations will be recorded prospectively and continuously with the clinical care team blinded to the data. The development of NEC and significant feeding problems will then be correlated with the regional oxygen saturations to determine whether decreased intestinal oxygen saturations predicted early signs and symptoms of NEC. We anticipate generating pilot data in 30 infants who meet inclusion criteria. Support of this research will be provided partially by Somanetics, the manufacturer of the INVOS regional oxygen saturation monitors. They will, however, have no control over the data generated by this study.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal catastrophe affecting 10-15% of premature neonates of <1500 gm. NEC is a disease of the immature intestine, characterized by impaired mucosal barrier function leading to increased gut permeability. We have previously demonstrated a protective effect of probiotic administration against the development of NEC. Others have shown that prebiotics can stimulate natural production of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in the preterm gut. We have therefore hypothesized that prophylactic administration of prebiotics would also provide protection against necrotizing enterocolitis in the premature neonate, without the potential for sepsis which has been reported on rare occasions with probiotics administration.

To assess the value of peripheral blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), serum levels of γ-Glutamyl transferase (GGT), total serum bilirubin and serum calcium (Ca2+) concentrations for early diagnosis and prediction of NEC severity and if found significant, scoring will be done according to their levels in different Bell's stages.

Since 1987, red blood cell (RBC) transfusions have been proposed as a potential risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is one of the most severe gastrointestinal complications of prematurity. Evidence from Doppler studies have shown a post-transfusion impairment of mesenteric blood flow in response to feeds, whereas NIRS studies have reported transient changes of splanchnic oxygenation after RBC transfusion; a possible role for these findings in increasing the risk for TANEC development has been hypothesized. The aim of this study is to evaluate SrSO2 patterns in response to enteral feeding before and after transfusion.

Necrotizing enterocolitis continues to be a disease that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in premature infants due to advances in neonatal intensive care that increase the survival rate of extremely low birth weight infants (below 1,000 gram)