1. |
- Halvorsen, Cecilia Pegelow, et al.
(author)
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A rapid smartphone-based lactate dehydrogenase test for neonatal diagnostics at the point of care
- 2019
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is a growing recognition of the importance of point-of-care tests (POCTs) for detecting critical neonatal illnesses to reduce the mortality rate in newborns, especially in low-income countries, which account for 98 percent of reported neonatal deaths. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a marker of cellular damage as a result of hypoxia-ischemia in affected organs. Here, we describe and test a POC LDH test direct from whole blood to provide early indication of serious illness in the neonate. The sample-inresult- out POC platform is specifically designed to meet the needs at resource-limited settings. Plasma is separated from whole blood on filter paper with dried-down reagents for colorimetric reaction, combined with software for analysis using a smartphone. The method was clinically tested in newborns in two different settings. In a clinical cohort of newborns of Stockholm (n = 62) and Hanoi (n = 26), the value of R using Pearson's correlation test was 0.91 (p < 0.01) and the R-2 = 0.83 between the two methods. The mean LDH (+/- SD) for the reference method vs. the POC-LDH was 551 (+/- 280) U/L and 552 (+/- 249) U/L respectively, indicating the clinical value of LDH values measured in minutes with the POC was comparable with standardized laboratory analyses.
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2. |
- Karlén, Jonna, et al.
(author)
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Cardiac Troponin T in Healthy Full-Term Infants
- 2019
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In: Pediatric Cardiology. - : SPRINGER. - 0172-0643 .- 1432-1971. ; 40:8, s. 1645-1654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this prospective cohort study of healthy full-term infants, we hypothesized that high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) would be elevated in cord blood, compared with adult reference values, and that it would further increase over the first days of age. Cardiac troponin T has been shown to be significantly increased in healthy full-term newborns compared with adult reference values, but there is no established reference range. Most studies of cTnT in newborns have been performed before the introduction of high-sensitivity cTnT (hs-cTnT) assay. We conducted a study including 158 full-term newborns, at Stockholm South General Hospital. High-sensitivity cTnT was analyzed in umbilical cord blood and at 2-5 days of age. Median hs-cTnT (interquartile range) in cord blood was 34(26-44) ng/L; 99th percentile 88 ng/L. Median hs-cTnT at 2-5 days of age was 92(54-158) ng/L; 99th percentile 664 ng/L. We conclude that hs-cTnT is elevated in cord blood in healthy, full-term newborn infants compared with adult reference values, and that it increases significantly during the first days of life. Our findings further underline the need of caution when using hs-cTnT as a measurement of cardiac impact in newborns.
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3. |
- Mohlkert, Lilly-Ann, et al.
(author)
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Lung function and pulmonary vascular resistance are not associated in 6-year-old children born extremely preterm
- 2020
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In: Acta Paediatrica. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 109:4, s. 746-753
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Children born preterm are at increased risk of reduced lung function. The aim was to test whether lung function was associated with pulmonary vascular resistance.Methods: Participants were recruited from a population-based cohort born in 2004-2007. Lung function was assessed with spirometry after administration of a beta2-agonist. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were determined. Estimations of pulmonary vascular resistance, arterial dimensions, right ventricular wall thickness, sphericity, and systolic (TAPSE) and diastolic functions were performed with echocardiography. Adjusted regression analyses were used to study associations.Results: Sixty-six children (33 boys) born at 22-26 weeks of gestational age (birthweights 460-1134 g) were assessed at a mean age of 6.7 years. Despite large variations in lung function with FVCz-scores ranging from -4.6 to +2.8, there were no associations between lung function and pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular structure or function. Children with higher FVCz-scores (r = .52, beta = .55 mm,P = .015) and higher FEV(1)z-scores (r = .58, beta = .73 mm,P = .001) exhibited larger pulmonary arteries.Conclusion: In children born extremely preterm, lung function was not associated with pulmonary vascular resistance. Routine echocardiographic evaluation of extremely preterm children may not be indicated at age 6.5 years.
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4. |
- Mohlkert, Lilly -Ann, et al.
(author)
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Preterm arteries in childhood : dimensions, intima-media thickness, and elasticity of the aorta, coronaries, and carotids in 6-y-old children born extremely preterm
- 2017
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In: Pediatric Research. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 0031-3998 .- 1530-0447. ; 81:2, s. 299-306
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Preterm birth increases risk for adult cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that arteries in 6-y-old children born preterm are narrower, with thicker intima-media and stiffer than in peers born at term. METHODS: Children born extremely preterm (EXP, n = 176, birthweights: 348-1,161 g) and at term (CTRL, n = 174, birth weights: 2,430-4,315 g) were included. Using ultrasonography, we determined diameters of the coronaries (CA), common carotid arteries (CCA) and aorta, the carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), and the stiffness index of the CCA and aorta. RESULTS: Arteries were 5-10% narrower in EXP than in CTRL (P < 0.005) but after adjustment for body surface area, diameter differences diminished or disappeared. EXP-children born small for gestational age exhibited similar arterial dimensions as those born appropriate for date. The cIMT was 0.38 (SD = 0.04) mm and did not differ between groups. Carotid but not aortic stiffness was lower in EXP than in CTRL. CONCLUSION: In 6-y-old children born extremely preterm, conduit arteries are of similar or smaller size than in controls born at term, and they have no signs of accelerated intima media thickening or arterial stiffening. While these findings are reassuring for these children and their families, the causal pathways from preterm birth to adult cardiovascular disease remain unknown.
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5. |
- Mohlkert, Lilly-Ann, et al.
(author)
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Right Heart Structure, Geometry and Function Assessed by Echocardiography in 6-Year-Old Children Born Extremely Preterm-A Population-Based Cohort Study
- 2021
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In: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI. - 2077-0383. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Preterm birth has been associated with altered cardiac phenotype in adults. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that children surviving extremely preterm birth have important structural or functional changes of the right heart or pulmonary circulation. We also examined relations between birth size, gestational age, neonatal diagnoses of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with cardiac outcomes. We assessed a population-based cohort of children born in Sweden before 27 weeks of gestation with echocardiography at 6.5 years of age (n = 176). Each preterm child was matched to a healthy control child born at term. Children born preterm had significantly smaller right atria, right ventricles with smaller widths, higher relative wall thickness and higher estimated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) than controls. In preterm children, PVR and right ventricular myocardial performance index (RVmpi') were significantly higher in those with a PDA as neonates than in those without PDA, but no such associations were found with BPD. In conclusion, children born extremely preterm exhibit higher estimated PVR, altered right heart structure and function compared with children born at term.
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6. |
- Mohlkert, Lilly-Ann, et al.
(author)
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The Preterm Heart in Childhood : Left Ventricular Structure, Geometry, and Function Assessed by Echocardiography in 6-Year-Old Survivors of Periviable Births
- 2018
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In: Journal of the American Heart Association. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2047-9980. ; 7:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Preterm birth has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity in adult life. We evaluated whether preterm birth is associated with deviating cardiac structure and function before school start. Methods and Results: In total, 176 children aged 6 years and born extremely preterm (EXPT; gestational age of 22-26weeks) and 134 children born at term (control [CTRL]) were studied. We used echocardiography to assess left heart dimensions, geometry, and functions. Recording and off-line analyses of echocardiographic images were performed by operators blinded to group belonging. Body size, blood pressure, and heart rate were also measured. Rates of family history of cardiovascular disease and sex distribution were similar in the EXPT and CTRL groups. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure did not differ, whereas diastolic blood pressure was slightly higher in EXPT than CTRL participants. After adjusting for body surface area, left ventricular length, width, and aortic valve annulus diameter were 3% to 5% smaller in EXPT than CTRL participants. Left ventricular longitudinal shortening and systolic tissue velocity were 7% to 11% lower, and transversal shortening fraction was 6% higher in EXPT than CTRL participants. The EXPT group also exhibited lower atrial emptying velocities than the CTRL group. Sex, fetal growth restriction, or a patent ductus arteriosus in the neonatal period did not contribute to cardiac dimensions or performance. Conclusions: Six-year-old children born extremely preterm exhibit a unique cardiac phenotype characterized by smaller left ventricles with altered systolic and diastolic functions than same-aged children born at term.
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7. |
- Pegelow Halvorsen, Cecilia
(author)
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Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) : outcomes with special reference to cardiovascular function
- 2013
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: Fetal environment has become a subject for increasing interest when studying health and disease in adults. Monozygous (MZ) twins, especially gestations complicated with twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), offer a unique opportunity to study adverse developmental programming of the cardiovascular system. TTTS affects about 10% of pregnancies with a common placenta because of unbalanced blood flow across deep arteriovenous connecting vessels. The divergent hemodynamic load s of the donor and the recipient fetus often result in myocardial hypertrophy of the recipient heart. The aims of this thesis were to evaluate intrauterine environmental contributions to vascular functions in twins with discordant birth weight (Paper I), to study long term effects of TTTS on cardiac structure and function (Paper II and IV) and to determine infant survival and neonatal outcome after fetoscopic laser coagulation therapy of TTTS in Sweden (Paper III). Methods and Results: An observational study of 31 twin-pairs, mean age 8 years, with discordant weight at birth, showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP) was higher and endothelial function lower in the at birth smaller twin. In MZ twins with a history of TTTS (n= 9 pairs), there was no significant difference in SBP, but do nor twins had narrower carotid arteries than recipient twins and carotid strain was higher (Paper I). Echocardiography of 11 TTTS twin-pairs, mean age 9.6 years, prenatally treated with amnioreductions, showed no difference in cardiac structure but recipients had significantly lower diastolic ventricular filling compared with donors (Paper II). When examining a laser treated cohort of 19 TTTS twin-pairs, mean age 4.5 years, and 19 age-matched singleton controls, we found signs of a minor decrease in early diastolic ventricular filling in recipients compared with donors, but no differences in heart function or structure compared with controls (Paper IV). From a hospital-based register of the first Swedish cohort of laser treated TTTS pregnancies (n = 71), we found that overall survival from treatment to one-year of age was 46%, and that in 61% of gestations, at least one twin survived infancy. Mean gestational age at birth was 30 weeks and mechanical ventilation was needed in 46% of live born twins (Paper III). Conclusions: Exposure to fetal growth retardation may contribute to higher blood pressure, arterial narrowing and endothelial dysfunction in childhood (Paper I). Fetal and infant survival after fetoscopic laser coagulation of TTTS is still limited. If very preterm delivery is necessary, the neonatal team has to prepare for taking care of two high risk neonates mostly requiring respiratory support (Paper III). Despite different and severe fetal cardiac loading conditions, our long-term follow-up studies of twins surviving TTTS showed an overall cardiac structure and function within normal range. The signs of reduced diastolic function found in the group treated with amnioreductions (Paper II) were less pronounced in the laser treated cohort (Paper IV). These observations indicate that the cardiac morbidity caused by TTTS resolves in childhood. This has important implications as clinical decision making in TTTS frequently involves choosing between accepting increased fetal cardiac morbidity in the recipient twin and delivery of two very preterm babies.
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8. |
- Savchenko, Julia, et al.
(author)
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Key outcomes in childbirth : Development of a perinatal core outcome set for management of labor and delivery at or near term
- 2023
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In: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0001-6349 .- 1600-0412. ; 102:6, s. 728-734
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Consistency and relevance of perinatal outcome measures are necessary basics for obstetric research, audit, and clinical counseling. Still, there is an unwarranted variation in reported perinatal outcomes, which impairs research synthesis, validity, and implementation, as well as clinical benchmarking and longitudinal comparisons. The aim of this study was to develop a short-term perinatal (fetal and neonatal) Core Outcome Set to be used in research and quality assurance of management of labor and delivery at or near term.Material and methods: The methods were guided by the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials Initiative Handbook. The project was prospectively registered on July 2, 2020 in the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) data base (reference number 1593). A list of potential outcomes was created based on a systematic review of studies evaluating interventions for peripartum management at or near term (>= 34 weeks of gestation), including decisions regarding timing and type of onset of labor, intrapartum care, and mode of delivery. The list was entered into a two-round Delphi survey with predefined consensus criteria. Participants (n = 67) included clinicians, researchers, lay persons with experience of childbirth (patient representatives), and other stakeholders. A consensus meeting was held to reach a final agreement.Results: Response rates were 82.1% (55/67) and 92.7% (51/55) for the first and second Delphi rounds, respectively. In total, 17 outcomes were included in the final core outcome set, reflecting mortality, health or morbidity, including asphyxia, central nervous system status, infection, neonatal resuscitation and admission, breastfeeding and mother-infant interaction, operative delivery due to fetal distress, as well as birthweight and gestational age. Two of these outcomes were suggested by patient representatives.Conclusions: The Swedish Perinatal Core Outcome Set (SPeCOS) study involved a broad circle of relevant stakeholders and reached consensus on a minimal set of perinatal outcomes that should be collected and reported in a standardized way in all future studies on management of labor and delivery at or near term, regardless of the specific population or condition studied. This could improve obstetric research, evidence synthesis, uptake, implementation, and adherence, as well as clinical practice, audit, and comparisons in childbirth care.
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