The leading cause of death for infants with extremely low birth weight is respiratory failure in this study -- Iranian Journal of Pediatrics Vol.23 No.5

Today we are featuring Iranian Journal of Pediatrics vol.23 no.5. This is the first in a series of posts featuring the journal that will be on the blog in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! 

This issue includes "Outcome of Very Low Birth Weight Infants Over 3 Years Report From an Iranian Center" by Afjeh et al. This study looks at the frequency of disease, survival rate and risk factors causing poor health and mortality in infants with very low birth weight (VLBW). The study was conducted from April 2007 to March 2010 on all neonates at the Mahdieh Hospital in Tehran. 564 of the infants had VLBW. Data and information from when the infant was born and details during the duration of their stay was collected and analyzed. The results indicated that overall survival rate of the infants was 70.9%, but only 33.3% in infants with extremely low birth weight (ELBW). A leading cause of mortality in infants with ELBW was respiratory failure from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The results also indicated that mechanical ventilation was also a factor for mortality.

Another article included in this issue is "Effect of Oral Ondansetron on Decreasing the Vomiting Associated with Acute Gastroenteritis in Iranian Children" by Golshekan et al. This article examines the effects of oral ondansetron in children to reduce vomiting from acute gastroenteritis. The study was conducted on 176 children from ages 1 to 10 years old. The oral ondansetron and a placebo were compared. 30 minutes after administration, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was performed. Patients in both groups still had persistent vomiting. The results indicated that oral ondansetron greatly decreased ORT failure, however, further studies need to be conducted in order to determine its effectiveness.

These articles and other articles from this issue can be found here.

Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.12

What are the survival predictors of preterm neonates? Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine was recently updated on Bioline in March with vol.11 no.12, and includes an article that aims to uncover this question.

This issue includes "Survival predictors of preterm neonates: Hospital based study in Iran (2010-2011)" by Haghighi et al. This article assesses the factors for risk of neonatal mortality, as well as the factors affecting survival rate of pre-term infants in the Iranian population. 1612 pre-term infants born at 26-36 weeks at the Shahid Akbar-Abadi University Hospital from April 2010 to April 2011 were examined. Fetal-neonatal, maternal and pregnancy data was taken, and survival rates were analyzed. The results indicated that the total overall mortality rate for the infants was 9.1%. Infants at the lowest end of the birth weight spectrum had survival rates of 11.11%. The results indicated that birth weight under 1000mg dramatically influenced neonatal survival rate.

This issue also includes "Uterine cavity assessment in infertile women: Sensitivity and specificity of three-dimensional Hysterosonography versus Hysteroscopy" by Ahmadi et al. This article examines the effects of the use of three-dimensional hysterosonography (3-DHS) to diagnose uterine abnormalities in women with infertility. The study was conducted at the Royan Institute in Tehran, Iran between 2010 and 2011, examining women with infertility issues who were referred to 3-DHS before in-vitro fertilization. The study also included women who underwent both a hysteroscopy and 3-DHS. The results indicated that sensitivity and specificity for 3-DHS was 68.4% and 96.3%, respectively. It was concluded that 3-DHS, in comparison to the hysteroscopy, was reliable in diagnosing uterine abnormalities.

For these articles and other articles from this issue, click here.