Active clinical trials for "Premature Birth"

Premature infants with iron deficiency if supplemented with more elemental iron than the routine 2mg/kg/day will have improved brain development.

This study evaluates the use of a NICU clinical integration system (Dashboard and accessories) in improving the quality of care delivered, patient health outcomes, and parent and clinician satisfaction. Clinicians will be asked to follow their current standard of care practices with the aid of this technology. About half of participants will receive care in NICU rooms with the Dashboard installed while the other half will receive standard care without the Dashboard.

This study evaluates the use of a NICU clinical integration system (Dashboard and accessories) in improving the quality of care delivered, patient health outcomes, and parent and clinician satisfaction. Clinicians will be asked to follow their current standard of care practices with the aid of this technology. About half of participants will receive care in NICU rooms with the Dashboard installed while the other half will receive standard care without the Dashboard.

Prophylactic enteral probiotics may enhance clinical markers and biomarkers of preterm infants' health, and may also play a role in reducing NEC and associated morbidity.

Briefly our study is looking at the effects of 4 weeks of assisted exercise on the body composition and neurological/behavioral development of healthy growing premature infants enrolled between the ages of 30-33 weeks. It is a blinded study where the active group gets the exercise intervention and the control group is cuddled for the same amount of time -approximately 20 minutes. We get baseline data using muscle ultrasound, bone speed of sound and DEXA. We also get baseline blood samples to look at inflammatory mediators and growth hormone. Video of each subject is recorded an hour at two time points during the study to assess the babies for spontaneous activity. Nutritional intake information is collected daily and in the 4th week of the study assessments made for total energy expenditure using doubly labeled water. At this point in the study we repeat the ultrasounds and DEXA for comparison. Finally in the period just before discharge we do a complex neurological exam using the Brazelton NBAS assessment.

Initiating and sustaining breastfeeding are common challenges in neonatal units. It is known that hindmilk expressed at the end of the expression session has a higher fat content. Previous studies have shown that simultaneous pumping is more effective at producing milk than sequential pumping. However this approach is often felt uncomfortable by the mothers, and sequential pumping is preferred. The purpose of this study is to determine which modality of milk expression by electric pump is the most efficient and productive when sequential pumping is used.This is done by assessing the milk volume expressed per expression and its macronutrients content.

The objective is to test a novel paradigm for the inhibition of human preterm uterine contractions. The study hypothesis is that human preterm contractions can be safely inhibited with a weak electrical current provided by an electrical inhibition/uterine pacemaker device. Preterm birth is still a major problem. Current methods of preventing the uterine contractions of preterm are limited and associated with many side-effects affecting both the mother and baby. A reliable method of preventing preterm uterine contractions would be an important discovery. Such a method could eventually lead to a long-term goal of decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality.

The present protocol will demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of a newly developed mode of mechanical ventilation, Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist, commonly known as NAVA. During NAVA, the timing and magnitude of pressure delivered are controlled by the infants' diaphragm electrical activity (EAdi), a validated measurement of neural respiratory drive. Recent clinical trials in adults and term infants have shown that NAVA is more synchronous than conventional pressure support ventilation, and that NAVA delivers lower mean airway pressures to achieve the same ventilation and respiratory muscle unloading. NAVA has recently been approved for use in neonates by Health Canada and the FDA in the United States, and is commercially available on the Servoi ventilator (Maquet Critical Care, Solna, Sweden). The present protocol is designed as a "case study" where the researchers responsible would like to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of ventilating a premature baby on NAVA with the Servoi for 12 hours.

Premature babies receiving treatment and care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are exposed to various painful procedures. Repetitive and untreated painful procedures have a negative impact on the physiological, cognitive and behavioral development of the baby. Various approaches such as white noise, music, lullaby, kangaroo care, breastfeeding, swaddling, massage, and therapeutic positioning are used to reduce the painful processes that newborns are exposed to in the NICU.

Preterm delivery occurs in about 5-18% of pregnancies before 37 weeks' gestation all over the world.It is associated with a high prevalence of neurological deficits, developmental disabilities and is a leading cause of infant and neonatal mortality. Many of the methods used for predicting preterm birth has not been proven efficacy and is not currently recommended for use.The length of the cervix has been one of the most useful methods in predicting the risk of premature delivery. Detection rates may be improved if combined with other parameters such as the uterocervical angle as a new predictor of spontaneous preterm birth. In this study we will compare between using the uterocervical angle and cervical length in the prediction of preterm labour.