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Anemia of prematurity is common in very low birth weight premature infants. Treatment of this disorder includes red blood cell transfusions. Recombinant erythropoietin treatment failed to decrease transfusions in the first few weeks of life;anemia in this period of life may be related to the frequent blood withdrawals. Donor reduction programs, safe transfusion methods, and restrictive transfusion protocols have decreased the infectious complications of transfusions. Long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in newborns with asymptomatic anemia are also controversial. Therefore, more restrictive transfusion guidelines should be used during this period. Preventing or limiting blood loss by phlebotomies should be the first goal. Iron deficiency anemia in these babies is common in the infancy period;therefore, periodic screening until 18 months of age is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D plays a central role in calcium and phosphate homeostasis, and it is essential for the proper development and maintenance of bone. Recent studies show that vitamin D is effective for different tissue functions in addition to bone metabolism. The study group was comprised of 101 healthy newborn infants with a gestational age of 38 weeks or more. Umbilical cord 25 (OH) D levels were measured. Newborns were divided into two groups according to the 25(OH) D levels (<12 ng/ml and >12 ng/ml). Thirty-one percent of these newborn infants had severe deficiency. There were no differences between the groups according to the mother's education, clothing style, home condition, profession, gestational age, vitamin D supplementation, newborn's gender, and birth weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment is defined as the emotional tie that a baby forms between itself and those who care for it, in order to keep an adult closer, thereby obtaining safety and security. Infantile colic has been defined as paroxysmal uncontrollable crying in an otherwise healthy infant less than three months of age, with more than three hours of crying per day on more than three days a week and for more than three weeks. We aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between maternal attachment and infantile colic. The study was carried out at the Başkent University Department of Pediatrics. To evaluate maternal bonding, the Maternal Attachment Inventory was administered to 58 mothers of babies with infantile colic and 60 mothers of babies without infantile colic. The infantile colic rate was higher in female infants and in infants of mothers with a history of problematic pregnancy. In this study, no significant relationship was found between infantile colic and maternal bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) may be associated with increased morbidityin premature infants. Diagnosis and treatment of hemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus is important. In this study, we investigated the predictive role of carina angle on chest X-ray in the diagnosis of PDA. Twenty-two premature infants with gestational age of less than 32 weeks were enrolled into this study during the period from October 2009 to June 2010 at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Başkent University Hospital. We compared the carina angle of 10 patients who had hemodynamically significant PDA with 12 patients who had no PDA. Carina angle measurement was repeated after PDA treatment. The hemodynamically significant PDA group had a significantly wider carina angle (94.6±6.0°) compared to the no ductus group(81.1+9.1°; p<0.05). The predictive role of carina angle in the diagnosis of PDA was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (area under the curve (AUC) =0.096; p=0.001). The cut-off value of carina angle was 91°, with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 80%. We observed significant reduction in the carina angle measurement after the treatment(p=0.001). Measurement of carina angle is a quite simple and effective method of assessing PDA. Carina angle may provide information about PDA when echocardiography cannot be done for the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecevit A, İnce DA, Hanta D, Kurt A, Harman A, Özkiraz S, Gülcan H, Tarcan A. (Department of Pediatrics, Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey). Comparing the complications of ultrasoundguided versus percutaneously inserted central venous catheters in newborn infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Dergisi 2013; 56: 12-19. We compared the complications of ultrasound (US)-guided versus percutaneously inserted central venous catheters in newborn infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). We retrospectively reviewed the records of full-term and preterm neonates who needed US-guided and percutaneously inserted central venous catheters (PICCs). They were divided into two groups. Newborn infants in the first group had US-guided catheters, while the second group had PICCs. We compared catheter complications between the two patient groups. Sixty-six patients were enrolled, with 36 patients in Group 1 and 30 patients in Group 2. Mean gestational age was 30.3 weeks in Group 1 and 27.9 weeks in Group 2. Mean birth weight was 1653.72 g in Group 1 and 945.67 g in Group 2. There was a significant difference (p<0.001) between the two groups. Duration of indwelling catheter (mean) was 21.61 days in Group 1 and 8.36 days in Group 2, and there was a significant difference (p<0.001) between the two groups. Catheter-related infection was found in 9 patients in Group 1 and in 1 patient in Group 2. There were no differences between the two groups regarding respiratory arrest in attempts at insertion of catheter and bleeding from catheter. We compared the complications of US-guided central venous catheters and peripherally inserted central venous catheters in newborn infants who were observed in the NICU. This retrospective study showed that US-guided central venous catheters used in high-risk hospitalized patients were associated with a much higher rate of catheter-related bloodstream infections (25% versus 0.3%) than with peripherally inserted central venous catheters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]