Long-term effects of routine morphine infusion in mechanically ventilated neonates on children’s functioning: Five-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/PIIS0304395911001266/abstract?rss=yes
conducted a follow-up study among 5-year-olds who, as mechanically ventilated neonates, had participated in a placebo-controlled trial on effects of morphine administration on pain and neurologic outcome. They were now tested on intelligence, visual motor integration, behavior, chronic pain, and health-related quality of life.
scores on one IQ subtest, “visual analysis,” were significantly negatively related to having received morphine and to open-label morphine consumption the first 28days. The finding of a significant effect of morphine on the “visual analysis” IQ subtest calls for follow-up at a later age focusing on the higher-order neurocognitive functions.

2) Lactobacillus reuteri accelerates gastric emptying and improves regurgitation in infants

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/ejci/2011/00000041/00000004/art00010
European Journal of Clinical Investigation, Volume 41, Number 4
Thirty-four infants completed the study (19 infants receiving probiotics and 15 placebo).At baseline, the whole group of infants was similar to the control group as regards anthropometric and physiological data. The median fasting antral area was significantly reduced, (P = 0·01) the delta in gastric emptying rate was significantly increased (P = 0·01) and the median episodes per day of regurgitation was reduced (, P  < 0·001) in the probiotic group compared to the placebo group. In the whole group, the frequency of regurgitation and the basal antral area showed a positive correlation (r = 0·53, P = 0·004). Conclusions  In infants with functional GER, L. reuteri DSM 17938 reduce gastric distension and accelerate gastric emptying. In addition, this probiotic strain seems to diminish the frequency of regurgitation.

Prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease Assessed by Echocardiography in 2067 Consecutive Newborns

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02248.x/abstract

Acta Paediatrica

Methods:  A cohort screening study was conducted in an unselected series of all live-birth newborns. Two-dimensional and color Doppler echocardiography was performed at 0 to 4 days of life in 2067 consecutive neonates who were born at the Hamamatsu University Hospital, Japan, between May 2005 and April 2010.

Results:  There were 104 cases of CHD in the 2067 live births. Ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus were the most frequent cardiac abnormalities. The prevalence of newborns with CHD who had signs or symptoms of CHD and/or required invasive intervention was 21.3 per 1000 live births. However, 60 patients (29.0 per 1000 live births) with CHD were asymptomatic and did not need invasive intervention. The overall prevalence of CHD in this series was 50.3 per 1000 live births.

Conclusion:  This prospective study using echocardiography for all newborns shows a higher prevalence of CHD than almost all of the previous studies.