The Effects of Training Emotional Intelligence Skills Training on Stress Among the Mothers of Premature Newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background The mothers of premature newborns experience high levels of stress which can affect their relationships with their newborns, cause them ineffective parental role performance, and impair their newborns’ growth and development. Emotional intelligence (EI) has potential positive effects on stress. Objectives This study evaluated the effects of training EI skills on stress among the mothers of premature newborns in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2016 with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. Ninety mothers of premature newborns were selected from the NICUs of Zeinabieh and Hafez hospitals, Shiraz, Iran, and randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Participants in the control group received EI skills training in six sessions held twice weekly. The Parental Stress Scale was used for stress assessment before and one week after the intervention. The SPSS software (v. 16.0) was used for data analysis. Results Thirty seven participants in each group completed the study. While there was no significant difference between the intervention and the control groups respecting the pretest mean score of stress (48.89±19.02 vs. 44.92±18.55; P = 0.37), the posttest mean score of stress in the intervention group was significantly less than the control group (13.29±13.15 vs. 47.84±22.56; P < 0.001). The mean score of participants’ stress had significant relationship with their income level and their premature newborns’ birth weight. Conclusion Training EI skills is effective in significantly reducing stress among the mothers of premature newborns in NICU.

B. infantis EVC001 Is Well-Tolerated and Improves Human Milk Oligosaccharide Utilization in Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Not all infants carry specialized gut microbes, meaning they cannot digest human milk oligosaccharides and therefore do not receive complete benefits from human milk. B. infantis EVC001 is equipped to convert the full array of complex oligosaccharides into compounds usable by the infant, making it an ideal candidate to stabilize gut function and improve nutrition in preterm infants. A prospective, open-label study design was used to evaluate the tolerability of B. infantis EVC001 and its effects on the fecal microbiota in preterm infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Thirty preterm infants &lt;1,500 g and/or &lt;33 weeks gestation at birth were divided into two matched groups, and control infants were enrolled and discharged prior to enrolling EVC001 infants to prevent cross-colonization of B. infantis: (1) fifteen control infants received no EVC001, and (2) fifteen infants received once-daily feedings of B. infantis EVC001 (8.0 x 109 CFU) in MCT oil. Clinical information regarding medications, growth, nutrition, gastrointestinal events, diagnoses, and procedures was collected throughout admission. Infant stool samples were collected at baseline, Study Days 14 and 28, and 34-, 36-, and 38-weeks of gestation. Taxonomic composition of the fecal microbiota, functional microbiota analysis, B. infantis, and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in the stool were determined or quantified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomic sequencing, qPCR, and mass spectrometry, respectively. No adverse events or tolerability issues related to EVC001 were reported. Control infants had no detectable levels of B. infantis. EVC001 infants achieved high levels of B. infantis (mean = 9.7 Log10 CFU/μg fecal DNA) by Study Day 14, correlating with less fecal HMOs (ρ = −0.83, P &lt; 0.0001), indicating better HMO utilization in the gut. In this study, B. infantis EVC001 was shown to be safe, well-tolerated, and efficient in colonizing the preterm infant gut and able to increase the abundance of bifidobacteria capable of metabolizing HMOs, resulting in significantly improved utilization of human milk.Clinical Trial Registration:https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03939546, identifier: NCT03939546.

Ultrasound Guided Vascular Access in The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Nationwide Survey

Ultrasound guided percutaneous vascular access (USG-PVA) is recommended by international practice guidelines but information regarding its use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is lacking. Our objective was to assess neonatologist’s perceptions and current implementation of USG-PVA in Spain. This was a nationwide online survey. The survey was composed of 37 questions divided in 4 domains: 1) neonatologist’s background, 2) NICU characteristics, 3) personal perspectives about USG-PVA and clinical experience in USG-PVA. One hundred and eighty survey responses from 59 NICUs (62% of Spanish NICUs) were analyzed. Most neonatologist (81%) perceive that competence in USG-PVA is indispensable or very useful in clinical practice. However, 64 (35.5%) have never used USG-PVA in real patients. Among neonatologists with some experience in USG-PVA most perform less than 5 procedures per year (59% in venous access and 80% in arterial access) and a 38% and 60% have never used USG for venous and arterial access respectively in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI). Spanish neonatologists report that residents/fellows training in USG-PVA is absent (52.2%) or unstructured (32%) in their units. The lack of adequate training is identified by a 60% of neonatologists as the most important barrier for implementation of USG-PVA and 87% would recommend that future neonatologists receive formal training. In conclusion, Spanish neonatologists perceive that USG-PVA is important in clinical practice but, currently these techniques are largely underused. Our results indicate that specific training in USG-PVA should be implemented in the NICU.