Biomedical subjects

Daniel L Mollitt

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel L Mollitt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Surgical management of bowel perforations and outcome in very low-birth-weight infants (< or =1,200 g).

PURPOSE: The efficacy of peritoneal drainage (PD) as an alternative to laparotomy (LAP) in the management of bowel perforation (PRF) in very low-birth-weight infants (VLBW < or = 1,200 g) remains uncertain. The authors hypothesized that survival of VLBW infants with PRF depends on the severity of illness rather than on the initial surgical approach. METHODS: Demographic, clinical, and outcome data on all VLBW infants were abstracted prospectively over a 12(1/2)-year period. Infants with PRF were stratified by PD or by LAP. Illness acuity was compared using the sum of a 7-point scoring system based on the clinical signs determined to be of prognostic significance. The factors associated with adverse outcome and the epidemiology of PRF were also examined. RESULTS: Of 937 infants, 78 with PRF required surgical intervention, consisting of PD in 32 (41%) and LAP in 46 (59%). Mean birth weight, illness acuity score, and the number of infants with NEC were significantly lower in PD (P =.0005). A higher proportion of PD infants received indomethacin (P =.01). There were no other differences between the 2 groups. Regardless of the choice of procedure, birth weight did not affect mortality rate; however, a shorter interval between PRF identification and surgical intervention was associated with improved survival rate (P =.001). Postoperative liver dysfunction, short gut syndrome, and enteric stricture were more common among LAP. Mortality rate, however, did not differ. When severe thrombocytopenia (P <.03) or neutropenia was present (P <.03), outcome of LAP was better than PD. Rescue LAP for 8 of rapidly deteriorating PD infants saved 5. Regardless of surgical approach, coagulopathy (P <.003), severe thrombocytopenia (P <.005), neutropenia (P <.0001), and multiple organ failure (P <.0001) were all predictive of fatality. CONCLUSIONS: Choice of surgical approach should be based on the underlying illness and not on birth weight. In the presence of clinical indication of necrotic gut, or profound abdominal infection, LAP is a better choice. PD, however, is far less morbid and should be considered for isolated PRF. Rescue LAP must be considered without delay when PD fails.

Constriction, Pathologic↗

PubMed2004

Rotavirus-associated necrotizing enterocolitis: an insight into a potentially preventable disease?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that rotavirus-associated necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC + RV) differs from NEC associated with other organisms (NEC-RV). METHODS: Neonates with modified Bell stage II or higher NEC were identified. Demographic, clinical, and outcome information was collected prospectively. Fecal specimens from all infants were tested for confirmation of rotavirus infection (RVI) by immunoelectron microscopy (IEM). RESULTS: Of 2,444 admissions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), 129 (5.3%) had NEC. Thirty-eight (29%) were rotavirus positive. The 2 groups did not differ in maternal or neonatal characteristics. Stage III or higher NEC was more common in the NEC-RV infants (62% v. 39%; P =.032), whereas recurrence was more common in NEC + RV group (P <.0001). The predominant distribution of nondiffuse pneumatosis (n = 52) was right sided in NEC-RV group and left sided in NEC + RV group (P <.0001). Surgical intervention (SI) did not differ between the 2 groups. The complications and mortality rates also were similar. Severe pneumatosis (P =.009) and severe thrombocytopenia (Platelet count < 50,000/mm3; P <.0001) increased, while human milk feedings decreased (P =.022) the odds for surgery. The annual distribution of NEC + RV paralleled RVI in the community. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, NEC + RV is a less severe disease than NEC - RV as classified by modified Bell staging. However, it can reach advanced stages obscuring distinction from NEC - RV. Indications for surgery should not be altered by identification of RVI in these infants. Monitoring RVI in the community, adhering to infection control measures, human milk feedings, and improving neonatal immunity against RVI may reduce the incidence of NEC + RV.

Community-Acquired Infections↗

PubMed2002

Infection control: avoiding the inevitable.

Infection, while a major cause of morbidity, should not be considered an inevitable consequence of injury. Good aseptic technique, compulsive attention to detail, and thorough understanding of the points addressed in the following list of critical points are the best guarantee that infection will not add avoidable morbidity to misfortune. Critical points regarding infectious problems in care of the injured child: 1. Polymicrobial infection is the rule with 50% of isolates being mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. 2. It is a misnomer to consider antibiotic use in a pediatric trauma victim as prophylactic. Antimicrobials used in this setting are best considered adjunctive. 3. The major indication for anti-infective therapy in pediatric trauma is an injury with a high probability of infection. 4. Antibiotics do not sterilize the wound or body cavity; they limit bacterial proliferation, thereby supplementing effective immune control. 5. Available studies suggest that 24 hours is as efficacious as a longer treatment duration in a purely adjunctive mode. 6. In bites inflicted by dogs and cats, Pasturella species are frequent. 7. Human bites may result in infection by Eikenella corrodens. 8. Based on this bacteriology, adjunctive intravenous ampicillin sulbactam or oral amoxicillin clavulanate are recommended for human and animal bites. 9. Tetanus prophylaxis is indicated in all significant soft tissue injuries. 10. Risk of osteomyelitis correlates directly with the extent of the associated soft tissue injury and vascular compromise. 11. The majority of infectious complications in the injured child are not a consequence of the injury itself, but rather in the treatment thereof. 12. In the injured child the most common nosocomial infection is lower respiratory followed by primary blood stream and the urinary tract. 13. The management of nosocomial pneumonia in the injured child is based on the time of diagnoses. Early evidence of pulmonary infection requires treatment with a third generation cephalosporin with or without an antistaphylococcal penicillin. Late pneumonia is treated with an aminoglycoside with or without an antipseudomonal added. 14. Catheter related infection is, in the injured child, overwhelmingly gram positive with coagulase negative staphlococcal species accounting for 30-60% of isolates. Staphlococcus aureus is responsible for an additional 15-20%. 15. The role of antibiotics in the prevention of catheter related meningitis is controversial. Recent adult studies suggest no advantage to their routine use. If utilized, they should only be employed prophylactically and not continued throughout the monitoring period. 16. Lack of response to treatment of sepsis may represent an inappropriate antimicrobial agent, improper dosage, inability to achieve adequate levels at the site of infection. (eg, CSF) fungal pathogen, and/or ongoing contamination or undrained purulent focus.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗