PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Malachowski

Publications and source records attributed to N Malachowski.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Infant hearing screening: program implementation and validation.

Congenital and early-onset hearing losses were discovered in 6.1% of 975 Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) graduates. The methods used were neonatal screening by Crib-O-Gram (COG) and high risk register, in combination with repeated behavioral hearing tests at 1 to 3 years. This 7-year longitudinal study had follow-up hearing evaluations for a remarkably high 84% of all subjects. Significant losses that interfered with speech and language development (1000 to 8000 Hz average loss greater than 45 dB HL bilaterally) were found in 4.3% of infants. COG in combination with subsequent behavioral hearing screening was a sensitive strategy for detecting significant hearing loss: only one child was missed with this combination. Alone, COG sensitivity to significant hearing losses was 79.3%, but would have been higher had a stricter passing criterion been adopted. Behavioral hearing screenings detected bilateral hearing losses of even mild (greater than 20 dB HL) degree. Sensitivity to significant hearing losses was 82.6% and would have been improved if test frequencies greater than 3000 Hz were included in the screen. Even if screening failure occurred at 1 year of age, the age of actual confirmation of hearing loss depended on severity of the loss and ear involvement. Significant hearing losses were confirmed earlier than less severe or unilateral losses. Although behavioral screenings could be done during the first year of life, continued follow-up was required to detect progressive hearing losses.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1987

Four factors that accurately predict hearing loss in "high risk" neonates.

Two simple overall measures of health--length of stay in the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) and gestational age--predict hearing loss in ICN graduates. Craniofacial anomalies, congenital perinatal infections, and meconium aspiration are strong predictors of hearing loss, especially in term infants. Findings are based on univariate and multivariate analyses of a number of variables that might be associated with permanent hearing loss. Study variables included all seven High Risk Register items and a number of other features of the ICN history. They were examined in 799 ICN graduates whose hearing had been monitored in their first few years of life. These babies composed 40% of the ICN population and were selected because they had one or more "high risk" factors in their neonatal history. Prevalence of hearing loss in this high risk sample was similar to that found in other ICN samples. Prevalence of hearing loss associated with individual Risk Register items was similar to other published findings for some items and not for others.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1986

Prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in premature and sick term infants with perinatally acquired cytomegalovirus infection.

Audiologic follow-up was obtained on 40 premature or sick term infants with perinatally acquired cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and on 40 prospectively matched control subjects. Final evaluation was postponed until 3 years of age to assess any long-term hearing sequelae of perinatal CMV infection in this population, and to obtain reasonably complete audiometric results. One experimental subject had a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss above 4000 Hz. Four control subjects had sensorineural hearing losses, three requiring binaural hearing aids. The prevalence of confirmed hearing loss requiring amplification (3.75%) in this study group was consistent with that observed in all graduates of the Intensive Care Nursery who were considered at risk for hearing loss in the same time period (4.2%). These data suggest that perinatally acquired CMV infection is not associated with significant sensorineural hearing loss in premature or full term infants through age 3.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗
PubMed1985

Use of sodium nitroprusside in neonates: efficacy and safety.

Sodium nitroprusside was administered to 58 neonates, including 11 with severe respiratory distress syndrome, 15 with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, 28 with clinical shock, three with systemic hypertension, and two with pulmonary hypoplasia, all refractory to conventional intensive therapy. Nitroprusside was infused at 0.2 to 6.0 micrograms/kg/min for periods of 10 minutes to 126 hours. Infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome had increased PaO2 and decreased PaCO2 or peak inspiratory pressure, and nearly all (82%) survived. Infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn had variable responses; improvement did not correlate with survival, but survival (47%) was identical to that in an earlier series of infants given tolazoline. Infants in shock had improved perfusion, urine output, and serum bicarbonate levels, and these responses were significantly related to survival. Hypertension was controlled in all three hypertensive infants. Adverse effects were very uncommon. Toxic effects were not observed. Sodium nitroprusside is effective and can be used safely in circulatory disorders in the neonate.

Bicarbonates↗
PubMed1985

Sequelae of acquired cytomegalovirus infection in premature and sick term infants.

To assess the risk of long-term sequelae after acquired cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in premature and sick term infants, 55 CMV infected patients were matched prospectively with 55 control patients and these matched pairs were evaluated at 3 years of age. Sensorineural hearing losses were present in four of 43 CMV infected patients (all mild-moderate) and in two of 43 controls (one severe). The incidence of neurologic sequelae was not increased in CMV infected patients with birth weight greater than 2000 gm. Among patients with birth weight less than 2001 gm, moderately abnormal EEGs were found in four (17%) of 23 CMV infected patients and in one (4%) of 23 controls, and severe handicaps occurred in four (14%) of 29 CMV infected patients and in two (7%) of 29 controls. Severe handicaps in premature infants were significantly (P less than 0.05) associated with early onset of CMV excretion (less than 8 weeks of age) and severe cardiopulmonary disease. Among the premature infants who were documented early excretors, three of 13 had severe neuromuscular impairment, four of 13 had severe handicaps (DQ less than 70, severe neuromuscular impairment, or profound loss of vision or hearing), and an additional four had DQs of 70 to 79. Among their matched control subjects, none of 13 had severe neuromuscular impairment, two of 13 had severe handicaps, and an additional two had DQs between 70 and 79. None of the premature infants who were documented late excretors (greater than or equal to 8 weeks of age) had any neurologic sequelae. The risk of neurologic sequelae and handicap may be increased in premature infants with onset of CMV excretion in the first 2 months of life.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗
PubMed1979

Refractory hypoxemia associated with neonatal pulmonary disease: the use and limitations of tolazoline.

Thirty-nine critically ill infants with pulmonary disease received tolazoline because of severe hypoxemia refractory to administration of 100% O2 and mechanical ventilation. Twenty-seven (69%) of the infants responded with an increase in PaO2 greater than or equal to 20 torr in the first umbilical arterial gas after completion of the initial ten-minute infusion (1 to 2 mg/kg) of the drug. A response was not correlated with survival. The overall survival was 46%, essentially unchanged from our previous report (44%). Infants with hyaline membrane disease had the poorest survival rate (33%). Complications associated with the use of tolazoline occurred in 82% of the infants. A hypotensive reaction, defined as a 25% decrease in mean arterial pressure from the pre-tolazoline level, occurred in 67% of the infants, and more commonly in the infants with RDS (87%). In 11 infants who did not respond to the initial dose of tolazoline, the dose was increased up to 10 mg/kg/hour; only one infant responded, and eight (73%) had a hypotensive reaction.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1978

Retrolental fibroplasia: a new analysis of risk factors based on recent cases.

Over an 18-month period, four severe and eight mild cases of retrolental fibroplasia (RLF) were diagnosed. All infants had gestational age less than 34 weeks. While the percentage of infants with RLF increased with decreasing gestational age, the severity of RLF was not related to birth weight or gestational age. These RLF infants were compared with premature infants having normal fundi. The arterial blood gas values in the first week of life were similar for the two groups. However, during the subsequent weeks of oxygen therapy, the infants who developed severe RLF had a significantly greater number of hours of capillary oxygen tension at undesirable levels (Pcap O2 greater than 50 mm Hg) than the mild RLF or control infants. These results suggest that infants may be at greatest risk of severe retinal damage from oxygen relatively late in the course of their oxygen therapy.

Humans↗