Risk Factors and Short Term Morbidities Associated With Term-Small for Gestational Age Babies Delivered at Nepalgunj Medical College

Introduction: Small for gestational age (SGA) refers to birth weight of neonates less than 10th percentile for gestational age or 2nd standard deviation below the population norms on the growth charts. Aims: To identify common risk factors and common morbidities for small for gestational age babies. Methods: This is a cross sectional descriptive study and it has been conducted at Department of pediatrics, Nepalgunj Medical college which is a tertiary level teaching hospital located in western part of Nepal. All term small for gestational age neonates born during study period from January 2020 to December 2020 were included. Detailed baseline demographic and clinical profile has been collected and recorded in the predesigned Proforma. Results: The most common risk factors associated with small for gestational age babies in our study were maternal hypertension (14.6%) , maternal GDM(9.6%), Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in 1st or 2nd trimester of pregnancy, maternal anemia, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypothyroidism and congenital heart disease. The most common short term complications associated with Small for gestational age babies were hypoglycemia and Meconium aspiration syndrome. Conclusion: The most common risk factors associated with Small for gestational age babies in our study were maternal hypertension, maternal Gestational diabetes Mellitus (GDM), Urinary Tract Infection in 1st or 2nd trimester of pregnancy, maternal anemia, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypothyroidism and congenital heart disease. The most common short term complications associated with Small for gestational age babies were hypoglycemia and Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS).

Pattern and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity in tertiary care centre

Retinopathy of prematurity is one of the commonest cause of blindness in sick neonates exposed to excessive oxygen following NICU admissions. The present study was thus conducted to assess the pattern and risk factors associated with incidence of retinopathy of prematurity.A retrospective record based study was conducted at tertiary care centre between 1st July 2017 to 30thMay 2020 were screened for ROP. Baseline characteristics and risk factors for ROP were assessed. The zone and stage of ROP were categorized as per the International classification of ROP along with iris neovascularisation and plus disease as per the revised international classification of retinopathy of prematurity (ICROP) preplus disease criteria. Data was entered in excel sheet and analysed using SPSS software version 20.Majority of neonates belonged to gestational age of 28 to 31 weeks (58.8%) and 51.2% neonates had birthweight of 1.5 to 2 kg. Male preponderance was observed with male: female ratio of 1.75:1. Amongst the various risk factors, the occurrence of ROP was highly significantly associated with gestational age and birthweight (p<0.01). Subgroup analysis revealed that aggressive posterior ROP (APROP) contributed significantly to Type I ROP in 11.1% (3) cases. And the observed difference in gestational age and birthweight between APROP and other cases of ROP were statistically highly significant (p<0.01).Early and timely screening of ROP for all high risk neonates especially low birth weight and neonates with small gestational age should be mandatory as these are the most significant risk factors associated with ROP in present study.

Fetal Size Classified Using Gestational Days rather than Gestational Weeks Improves Correlation with Stillbirth Risk: A Statewide Population Study.

Objective: Many growth charts provide single centile cutoffs for each week of gestation, yet fetuses gain weight throughout the week. We aimed to assess whether using a single centile per week distorts the proportion of infants classified as small and their risk of stillbirth across the week. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Victoria, Australia. Population: Singleton, non-anomalous infants born from 2005-2015 (529,261). Methods: We applied growth charts to identify small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses on week-based charts (single centile per gestational week) and day-based charts (centile per gestational day). Main outcome measures: Proportions <10th centile by each chart, and stillbirth risk amongst SGA infants. Results: Using week-based charts, 12.1% of infants born on the first day of a gestational week were SGA, but only 7.8% on the final day; ie. an infant born at the end of the week was 44% less likely to be classed as SGA (p<0.0001). The relative risk of stillbirth amongst SGA infants born on the final day of the week compared with the first was 1.47 (95%CI 1.09-2.00, p=0.01). Using day charts, SGA proportions were similar and stillbirth risk equal between the beginning and end of the week (9.5% vs 9.9%). Conclusions: Growth standards using a single cutoff for a gestational week overestimate the proportion of infants that are small at the beginning of the week and underestimate the proportion at the end. This distorts the risk of stillbirth amongst SGA infants based on when in the week an infant is born. Day-based charts should be used

Arterial health during early childhood following abnormal fetal growth

Background Abnormal fetal growth is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in adulthood. We investigated the effect of fetal programming on arterial health and morphology during early childhood. Methods We examined 90 children (median age 5.81 years, interquartile range: 5.67; 5.95), born small for gestational age with fetal growth restriction, large or appropriate for gestational age (SGA, N = 23, LGA, N = 19, AGA N = 48). We measured body composition, anthropometrics, blood pressure, pulse wave velocity (PWV), lipids, glucose and inflammatory markers, and assessed carotid, brachial, radial and femoral arterial morphology and stiffness using very-high resolution ultrasound (46–71 MHz). Results LGA showed increased anthropometry, lean body mass and body mass index. SGA displayed decreased anthropometry and lean body mass. Blood pressure, PWV, carotid artery stiffness and blood work did not differ groupwise. Differences in lumen diameters, intima-media thicknesses (IMT) and adventitia thicknesses disappeared when adjusted for lean body mass and sex. In multiple regression models arterial dimensions were mainly predicted by lean body mass, with birth weight remaining associated only with carotid and brachial lumen dimensions, and not with IMTs. Carotid-femoral PWV was predicted by height and blood pressure only. No independent effect of adiposity was observed. Conclusions Arterial dimensions in childhood associate with current anthropometrics, especially lean body mass, and sex, explaining differences in arterial layer thickness. We found no signs of fetal programming of cardiovascular risk or arterial health in early childhood.

Human plasma pregnancy-associated miRNAs and their temporal variation within the first trimester of pregnancy

Background During pregnancy, maternal metabolism undergoes substantial changes to support the developing fetus. Such changes are finely regulated by different mechanisms carried out by effectors such as microRNAs (miRNAs). These small non-coding RNAs regulate numerous biological functions, mostly through post-transcriptional repression of gene expression. miRNAs are also secreted in circulation by numerous organs, such as the placenta. However, the complete plasmatic microtranscriptome of pregnant women has still not been fully described, although some miRNA clusters from the chromosome 14 (C14MC) and the chromosome 19 (C19MC and miR-371-3 cluster) have been proposed as being specific to pregnancy. Our aims were thus to describe the plasma microtranscriptome during the first trimester of pregnancy, by assessing the differences with non-pregnant women, and how it varies between the 4th and the 16th week of pregnancy. Methods Plasmatic miRNAs from 436 pregnant (gestational week 4 to 16) and 15 non-pregnant women were quantified using Illumina HiSeq next-generation sequencing platform. Differentially abundant miRNAs were identified using DESeq2 package (FDR q-value ≤ 0.05) and their targeted biological pathways were assessed with DIANA-miRpath. Results A total of 2101 miRNAs were detected, of which 191 were differentially abundant (fold change < 0.05 or > 2, FDR q-value ≤ 0.05) between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Of these, 100 miRNAs were less and 91 miRNAs were more abundant in pregnant women. Additionally, the abundance of 57 miRNAs varied according to gestational age at first trimester, of which 47 were positively and 10 were negatively associated with advancing gestational age. miRNAs from the C19MC were positively associated with both pregnancy and gestational age variation during the first trimester. Biological pathway analysis revealed that these 191 (pregnancy-specific) and 57 (gestational age markers) miRNAs targeted genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, ECM-receptor interaction and TGF-beta signaling pathways. Conclusion We have identified circulating miRNAs specific to pregnancy and/or that varied with gestational age in first trimester. These miRNAs target biological pathways involved in lipid metabolism as well as placenta and embryo development, suggesting a contribution to the maternal metabolic adaptation to pregnancy and fetal growth.

The Nasal Microbiome of Predicting Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is chronic lung disease of prematurity and associated with substantial long-term disabilities. To characterize and compare the nasal swabs microbiome of early stage in premature infants and determine whether microbial diversity or composition in the airway associated with BPD disease. We performed a prospective observational cohort design. Preterm neonates less than 32 weeks of gestation were recruited from NICU, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from 2019 to 2020. Sterile foam swabs were collected from anterior nares at 1 and 3 weeks of postnatal age. We used PCR amplification and 16S rDNA sequencing. Neonatal demographic data including gestational age, birth weight, medication administration history were recorded. A total of 98 nasal swabs samples were collected from 54 preterm infants, 13 developed BPD infants and 41 control infants were finally involved in the study. Birth weights ranged from 700 to 2,050 g. Gestational age ranged from 25 2/7to 31 6/7. We found increased in the expression of Prevotella, Marinomonas, Enterobacteriaceae, Weissella, Selenomonas, Oribacterium, Nubsella and Antricoccus in BPD group at two time points. Prevotella was correlated with the severity of BPD (Spearman r=0.361, P=0.000). Given possible roles for noninvasive upper airway microbiota in BPD pathobiology, the nasal microbiome in BPD is a compelling area of research to continue to expand.

The amniotic fluid proteome changes with gestational age in normal pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

The cell-free transcriptome in amniotic fluid (AF) has been shown to be informative of physiologic and pathologic processes in pregnancy; however, the change in AF proteome with gestational age has mostly been studied by targeted approaches. The objective of this study was to describe the gestational age-dependent changes in the AF proteome during normal pregnancy by using an omics platform. The abundance of 1310 proteins was measured on a high-throughput aptamer-based proteomics platform in AF samples collected from women during midtrimester (16–24 weeks of gestation, n = 15) and at term without labor (37–42 weeks of gestation, n = 13). Only pregnancies without obstetrical complications were included in the study. Almost 25% (320) of AF proteins significantly changed in abundance between the midtrimester and term gestation. Of these, 154 (48.1%) proteins increased, and 166 (51.9%) decreased in abundance at term compared to midtrimester. Tissue-specific signatures of the trachea, salivary glands, brain regions, and immune system were increased while those of the gestational tissues (uterus, placenta, and ovary), cardiac myocytes, and fetal liver were decreased at term compared to midtrimester. The changes in AF protein abundance were correlated with those previously reported in the cell-free AF transcriptome. Intersecting gestational age-modulated AF proteins and their corresponding mRNAs previously reported in the maternal blood identified neutrophil-related protein/mRNA pairs that were modulated in the same direction. The first study to utilize an aptamer-based assay to profile the AF proteome modulation with gestational age, it reveals that almost one-quarter of the proteins are modulated as gestation advances, which is more than twice the fraction of altered plasma proteins (~ 10%). The results reported herein have implications for future studies focused on discovering biomarkers to predict, monitor, and diagnose obstetrical diseases.

A longitudinal study of exposure to fine particulate matter during pregnancy, small-for-gestational age births, and birthweight percentile for gestational age in a statewide birth cohort

Background Previous studies observed associations between prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm; PM2.5) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth and lower birthweight percentile for gestational age. Few, if any, studies examine prenatal air pollution exposure and these pregnancy outcomes in neonates born to the same women. Here, we assess whether prenatal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth or birthweight percentile for gestational age in a longitudinal setting. Methods Detailed birth record data were used to identify women who had singleton live births at least twice in North Carolina during 2002–2006 (n = 53,414 women, n = 109,929 births). Prenatal PM2.5 exposures were calculated using daily concentration estimates obtained from the US EPA Fused Air Quality Surface using Downscaling data archive. Associations between PM2.5 exposure and birthweight percentile and odds of SGA birth were calculated using linear and generalized mixed models, comparing successive pregnancies to the same woman. Odds ratios and associations were also estimated in models that did not account for siblings born to the same mother. Results Among NHW women, pregnancy-long PM2.5 exposure was associated with SGA (OR: 1.11 [1.06, 1.18]) and lower birthweight percentile (− 0.46 [− 0.74, − 0.17]). Trimester-specific PM2.5 was also associated with SGA and lower birthweight percentile. Among NHB women, statistically significant within-woman associations between PM2.5, SGA, and birthweight percentile were not observed. However, in models that did not account for births to the same mother, statistically significant associations were observed between some PM2.5 exposure windows and higher odds of SGA and lower birthweight percentile among NHB women. Conclusions Findings suggest that a woman is at greater risk of delivering an SGA or low birthweight percentile neonate when she has been exposed to higher PM2.5 levels. The within-woman comparison implemented here better controls for factors that may differ between women and potentially confound the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and pregnancy outcomes. This adds to the evidence that PM2.5 exposure may be causally related to SGA and birthweight percentile, even at concentrations close to or below National Ambient Air Quality Standards.