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K Smets

Publications and source records attributed to K Smets.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Subependymal caudothalamic groove hyperechogenicity and neonatal chronic lung disease.

Chronic lung disease is associated with several poorly defined risk factors for impaired cerebral development. Late neonatal onset of subependymal hyperechogenic areas in the caudothalamic groove has been reported in association with dexamethasone treatment and postnatal cytomegalovirus infection. We reviewed charts of 18 patients who developed subependymal hyperechogenicity beyond the first week of life, as well as charts of 79 patients belonging to a prospective surfactant study group. Thirteen of the 18 patients with subependymal hyperdensities had been treated with surfactant and were all found in the subgroup with chronic lung disease. In the surfactant-treated patients who did not develop chronic lung disease, we could not find any patient with subependymal hyperdensities. From the remaining five patients with ultrasound lesions, but who were not treated with surfactant, three had developed chronic lung disease. There was no evident association with dexamethasone treatment or cytomegalovirus infection. Our results support the idea of an association between chronic lung disease and the described echographic lesions in the caudothalamic groove, but the nature of the link between them is still unclear.

Betamethasone↗
PubMed1996

Dexamethasone associated systemic hypertension in low birth weight babies with chronic lung disease.

UNLABELLED: To assess the role of dexamethasone treatment as a cause of systemic hypertension and associated complications, blood pressure was registered prospectively before, during and after a 4-week dexamethasone course in 22 neonates with chronic lung disease. In all patients systolic blood pressure rose significantly during treatment (median rise 34 mm Hg, range 4-->59 mm Hg), without complications attributable to hypertension. In all but one patient blood pressure returned to pretreatment values within 2 weeks after stopping dexamethasone treatment. CONCLUSION: Dexamethasone induced hypertension is transient, even after a 4-week course, and is not associated with hypertensive complications, so treatment is not necessary. When hypertension persists after dexamethasone withdrawal other causes should be considered.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed1996

Use of tissue type plasminogen activator in neonates: case reports and review of the literature.

Recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has been used successfully in neonates for resolution of thrombotic processes, both arterial and venous. We report on 2 neonates with vena cava inferior thrombosis and with biochemical evidence of liver dysfunction in whom rt-PA treatment had to be interrupted because of significant bleeding tendency, without complete resolution of the thrombus. Therapy failure may be due to the age of the thrombus and the systemic way of administration, bypassing the site of the thrombus by collateral circulation. Impaired liver function may result in decreased degradation of rt-PA with prolonged effect and higher risk for bleeding complications. We suggest that lower doses should be administered in these patients.

Hemorrhage↗
PubMed1994

Aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen in cord blood and amniotic fluid of high-risk pregnancies: a biochemical approach to the dynamic assessment of deviant fetal growth.

N-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) concentration was measured in cord serum, amniotic fluid, and maternal serum from high-risk pregnancies. The fetal PIIINP variability was shown to be independent of the maternal serum PIIINP values. Although a highly significant negative correlation was found between the fetal propeptide level and gestational age in both appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates (n = 504) and small-for-gestational-age infants (n = 98), the PIIINP concentration in cord serum or amniotic fluid of small-for-gestational-age infants was significantly lower compared with that of appropriate-for-gestational-age infants matched for postconceptional age. PIIINP assay may thus serve as a dynamic biochemical indicator of deviant fetal growth. The PIIINP results were also related to the severity or duration of intrauterine growth retardation, as indicated by significantly lower propeptide cord serum values in nonmalformed small-for-gestational-age infants with small head circumference, known as an index for the chronicity of fetal nutritional deprivation. Preeclampsia, maternal diabetes or smoking, and congenital anomalies appeared not to be associated with any alteration of fetal propeptide concentration, provided they did not cause fetal growth deceleration. The finding of extremely high cord serum PIIINP values in six newborn infants with the Potter malformation sequence led to the speculation that large amounts of propeptides or their fragments usually are excreted by the fetal kidneys into the amniotic fluid. We suggest that determination of the PIIINP level in amniotic fluid or cord serum, obtained by amniocentesis and percutaneous umbilical sampling, may be a helpful adjunctive biochemical parameter in future research protocols assessing fetuses at risk for intrauterine growth retardation.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1988

Congenital toxoplasmosis presenting as massive neonatal ascites.

A preterm infant with isolated transudative ascites caused by Toxoplasma gondii is described. In the absence of obvious congenital malformations, toxoplasmosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fetal and neonatal non-immune ascites.

Ascites↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Eradication of sarcoptic mange from a Belgian pig breeding farm with a combination of injectable and in-feed ivermectin.

Sarcoptes scabiei var suis was eradicated from a Belgian pig farm by using a combination of injections of ivermectin and ivermectin in the feed. The detection of mites in ear scrapings, and calculations of an average dermatitis score and a scratching index were used to evaluate the mange status of the pigs before and after the treatment. Before the treatment 28 per cent of ear scrapings of finishers were positive for the presence of mites, their average dermatitis score (ADS) was 0.92 and their scratching index was 2.0. There was a significant decrease in all three measurements during the year after the treatment, and one year after treatment, no mites were found in the ear scrapings; the ADS of the finishers was 0.31 and their scratching index was 0.16. Adult animals were negative for the presence of mites at all times, the ADS was below the cut-off level before and after treatment, and the scratching index decreased after treatment There was an economic improvement among the breeding sows and the fattening pigs. The feed consumption of the sows decreased by 5 per cent; rebreeding decreased by 4.55 per cent; average litter size increased by 0.33 live piglets born per litter and the farrowing index increased by 0.075 litters per sow per year. As a result, the production index increased by 1.34 more piglets weaned per sow per year. There was an immediate improvement in feed conversion during the five months after the treatment. The costs of the treatment were recovered within 3.7 months.

Administration, Oral↗