Inside the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development: An Interview With Melissa Welch-Ross

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Welch-Ross ◽  
Elizabeth Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Human Development

Intelligence at Six Years in Relation to Neonatal Bilirubin Level: Follow-up of The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Clinical Trial of Phototherapy

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 797-805
Author(s):  
Peter C. Scheidt ◽  
Barry I. Graubard ◽  
Howard J. Hoffman ◽  
Dolores A. Bryla ◽  
Karin B. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Bilirubin Level ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Bilirubin Toxicity

Results of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Randomized Controlled Trial of Phototherapy were examined for the relationship of neonatal bilirubin level to neurological and developmental outcome at 6-year follow-up. This analysis focused on 224 control children with birth weight of less than 2000 g. Bilirubin levels were maintained below previously specified levels by the use of exchange transfusion only (24%). Rates of cerebral palsy were not significantly higher for children with elevated maximum bilirubin level than for those whose level remained low. No association was evident between maximum bilirubin level and IQ (Full Scale, Verbal, or Performance) by simple correlation analysis (r = -.087, P = .2 for Full Scale) or by multiple linear regression adjusting for factors that covary with IQ (β = -.15, P = .58). IQ was not associated with mean bilirubin level, time and duration of exposure to bilirubin, or measures of bilirubin-albumin binding. Thus, over the range of bilirubin levels permitted in this clinical trial, there was no evidence of bilirubin toxicity to the central nervous system. Measures used to control the level of bilirubin in low birth weight neonates appear to prevent effectively the risk of bilirubin-induced neurotoxicity.

Neonatology—Science or Art?

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 880-880
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Low Birth Weight ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Very Low Birth Weight ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Exact Science ◽  
Weight Outcomes

To the Editor.— The authors of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research network report1 of very low birth weight outcomes deserve a lot of praise for providing a survey of neonatal practices. But they are much too polite. In the discussion of "important intercenter variation as well as differences in the philosophy of care," the authors mildly note, "the practice of neonatal medicine remains in part an art rather than an exact science."

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