Podcasts about neonates

Today, we are tackling a massive grey area in obstetrics/maternal-fetal medicine: What happens after early fetal growth restriction resolves? When a baby bounces back on the growth chart during the second or third trimester, are they completely out of the woods? Or is there a hidden, lingering risk we aren't talking about enough? To find out, we're doing a deep dive into two major publications that dropped just this month, in August 2026 in sister journals (AJOG and AJOG MFM). Both are retrospective, both ask the exact same burning question…and get this: they arrive at completely opposing conclusions. How is that possible? Listen in for details. 1. Melamed B, Mei-Dan E, Aviram A. Sonographic fetal weight estimation percentiles should be interpreted with caution in the second trimester. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2026 May;173(2):930-939. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.70693. Epub 2025 Nov 25. PMID: 41288086.2. Ramos SZ, Has P, Gimovsky AC, Danilack VA, Savitz DA, Lewkowitz AK. Outcomes among Neonates after a Diagnosis of Persistent or Transient Fetal Growth Restriction Delivered at Term. Am J Perinatol. 2024 May;41(S 01):e1470-e1477. doi: 10.1055/a-2051-3859. Epub 2023 Mar 9. Erratum in: Am J Perinatol. 2024 May;41(S 01):e1478. doi: 10.1055/s-0044-1786526. PMID: 36894159; PMCID: PMC10562520.3. Keller N, Jackson F, Abelman S .Neonatal morbidity following resolution of fetal growth restriction diagnosed at second-trimester anatomy ultrasound. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, 2026; Aug 8. 4. Cenac LA, Wodoslawsky S, Patel V, McLaren Jr. R, Aghai ZH, Makhamreh MM, Al-Kouatly HB, Persistent, Resolved, and Absent Fetal Growth Restriction: A Comparison of Neonatal Outcomes, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2026), doi: https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2026. Aug 19

Send us Fan MailMost trials comparing CPAP and NIMV leave a lingering doubt about whether surfactant explained the difference. This one does not. Ben brings a multicenter noninferiority trial from JAMA Network Open in infants born between 24 and 29 weeks, randomized to nasal CPAP or NIMV with every baby receiving less invasive surfactant administration. The trial stopped early for futility after 312 infants. Noninvasive ventilation failure within 72 hours was 26 percent on CPAP versus 13 percent on NIMV. Ben and Daphna talk through what happens when surfactant is off the table, the unexpected NEC signal, and where the guidelines may need revisiting.----Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure vs Nasal Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation in Preterm Infants With Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Zhang H, Zhang Y, Zeng L, Tong X, Piao M, He H, Zhao C, Xie H, Zheng Z, Cui Q, Lai Y, Wang H, Wang L, Liu H, Tian X, Wu H, Kang L, Han T.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jun 1;9(6):e2619785. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.19785.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailA term newborn looks fine on mom's chest, then crashes within minutes. By the time transport arrives, there's a pH of 6.9, a lactate over 10, and a baby already intubated and on surfactant. Is this pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, or something else entirely? In this episode of From the Heart, It's Complicated, Dr. Adrianne Bischoff and Dr. Nim Goldshtrom work through a real, complex neonatal cardiac case in real time — the kind of case that keeps neonatologists up at night. They break down how to clinically differentiate PPHN from congenital heart disease with limited data, why epinephrine's response mattered more than the blood pressure number, how therapeutic hypothermia can unmask cardiac dysfunction, and why "blue is always better than gray" when managing a shunt-dependent circulation. Along the way: real literature, real physiology, and the reasoning behind decisions made under pressure, with a surprise diagnosis at the end. Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhy does reading in the NICU still feel optional when the evidence says otherwise? Daphna sits down with Paige Pedroli, author of the Nic Zoo book and two-time NICU mom, and Dr. Raquel Garcia, a craniofacial and feeding specialist, to unpack why reading to preterm and critically ill infants belongs alongside kangaroo care as neuropromotive, not just neuroprotective. They cover the evidence behind auditory stimulation and language outcomes, why reading gives overwhelmed parents a real role in their baby's care, and how units can build low-cost reading programs with book libraries and student volunteers. A practical, moving conversation for anyone building developmental care into daily NICU practice. Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIs your EMR actually built for neonatology, or just retrofitted to survive it? Ben sits down with Dr. Lindsey Knake, clinical assistant professor and associate chief health information officer at the University of Iowa, to talk AI in the NICU. They cover the real difference between Epic's homegrown tools and third-party options like Evidently and NABLA, why a six-month hospital stay breaks most chart summarization tools, and how ambient AI is starting to change documentation and family counseling. Lindsey also shares practical paths into clinical informatics for clinicians without a coding background. A grounded look at where NICU technology actually stands right now. Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailThe full week of Journal Club in one place. Monday, the PLaNT trial of prophylactic CPAP for late preterm infants born by cesarean, with senior author Dr. Edgardo Szyld. Tuesday, whether parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia changes feeding and length of stay. Wednesday, the Connection Study, the first live biotherapeutic product tested under an IND, and what it means for probiotics returning to the NICU. Thursday, a handheld light probe that reads bowel through the skin to catch NEC before the X-ray does. Friday, Dr. Dinushan Kaluarachchi on the respiratory severity score and what its trajectory tells us.----First-in-human pilot study of broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS) as noninvasive surveillance for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Dodd AC, Lehane AJ, Lee A, Hurlock A, Su Y, Ilahi I, Lautz TB, Backman V, Goldstein SD.J Pediatr Surg. 2026 May;61(5):162978. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2026.162978. Epub 2026 Feb 3.PMID: 41643767Association of parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia and NICU outcomes for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Nguyen TT, Glass HC, Chan N, Taketa E, Pineda R, Cornet MC, Miller MJ.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 22. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02753-3. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42332041Live biotherapeutic product IBP-9414 (L. reuteri) in very low birth weight infants: the Connection Study. Neu J, Del Moral T, Guthrie SO, Hudak ML, Indrio F, Kim JH, Kronström A, Martin CR, Modi N, Rastad J, Schnitzer TJ, Singh R, Strömberg S, Szajewska H, Thuresson M, Caplan M.Pediatr Res. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-026-04826-7. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41721054Prophylactic CPAP at Cesarean Birth in Late-Preterm Newborns: A Multicenter RCT. Shah BA, DeShea L, Schmölzer GM, Josephsen JB, Fabres J, Wetzel EA, Rykovich H, Thomas A, Law B, Garrido C, Szyld E.Pediatrics. 2026 Aug 1;158(2):e2025070998. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-070998.PMID: 42457181 Clinical Trial.Association Between Delivery Room Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Neonatal Outcomes in Late Preterm and Term Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chin Y, Hill M, Sett A, Thomas N, Razak A.J Paediatr Child Health. 2026 Jul 28. doi: 10.1111/jpc.70516. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42517258 Review.Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definition Based on Respiratory Severity Score. Kaluarachchi DC, Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM.Pediatr Pulmonol. 2026 Jul;61(7):e71750. doi: 10.1002/ppul.71750.PMID: 42478108 Free PMC article. No abstract available.Respiratory severity score patterns by birth gestational age among a cohort of extremely preterm infants. Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM, Keller RL, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02778-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42374145 No abstract available.Respiratory severity score as a predictor for need for tracheostomy in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Kaluarachchi NM, Afah Annah S, Lasarev MR, Peebles PJ, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 25. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02720-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42350618 No abstract available.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailThe respiratory severity score is one multiplication most of us already do in our heads, mean airway pressure times FiO2. This week Dr. Dinushan Kaluarachchi joins Journal Club to walk through three papers built on it, RSS trajectories across gestational age in the PROP cohort, an RSS based grading of BPD at 36 weeks, and RSS after 40 weeks as a predictor of tracheostomy. He also talks about writing that last paper with his son, a high school junior, and why a brief communication is a realistic on-ramp for students. Plus a preview of two upcoming trials, including surfactant given through a supraglottic airway.https://www.nature.com/collections/ejaffajdhi----Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definition Based on Respiratory Severity Score. Kaluarachchi DC, Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM.Pediatr Pulmonol. 2026 Jul;61(7):e71750. doi: 10.1002/ppul.71750.PMID: 42478108 Free PMC article. No abstract available.Respiratory severity score patterns by birth gestational age among a cohort of extremely preterm infants. Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM, Keller RL, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02778-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42374145 No abstract available.Respiratory severity score as a predictor for need for tracheostomy in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Kaluarachchi NM, Afah Annah S, Lasarev MR, Peebles PJ, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 25. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02720-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42350618 No abstract available.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailNEC still tends to announce itself on an X-ray, usually later than we want. This week Daphna reviews the first-in-human study of broadband optical spectroscopy, a handheld transcutaneous probe out of Lurie Children's that reads reflected light from 350 to 2500 nanometers to look at bowel beneath the skin. Just under 100 preterm infants, more than 11,000 scans, and a machine learning model that separated NEC from non-NEC scans with 100% sensitivity and a 100% negative predictive value, though the positive predictive value sat at 24%. Ben and Daphna work through what the curves actually show and what would have to come next.----First-in-human pilot study of broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS) as noninvasive surveillance for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Dodd AC, Lehane AJ, Lee A, Hurlock A, Su Y, Ilahi I, Lautz TB, Backman V, Goldstein SD.J Pediatr Surg. 2026 May;61(5):162978. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2026.162978. Epub 2026 Feb 3.PMID: 41643767Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailProbiotics left US NICUs after the FDA reclassified them, and NEC rates went up. This week Ben reviews the Connection Study, a 2,158 infant phase 3 trial of IBP-9414, a live biotherapeutic product containing Limosilactobacillus reuteri, run under an IND with the regulatory rigor probiotics never had. Neither primary endpoint reached significance, but all cause mortality fell 27%, and surgically confirmed NEC favored treatment after 14 days of dosing. The discussion may be the real story, including a kappa of 0.36 between radiologists reading the same NEC films. Ben and Daphna talk through what a regulated probiotic would mean for the babies waiting now.----Live biotherapeutic product IBP-9414 (L. reuteri) in very low birth weight infants: the Connection Study. Neu J, Del Moral T, Guthrie SO, Hudak ML, Indrio F, Kim JH, Kronström A, Martin CR, Modi N, Rastad J, Schnitzer TJ, Singh R, Strömberg S, Szajewska H, Thuresson M, Caplan M.Pediatr Res. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-026-04826-7. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41721054Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailParents of babies undergoing therapeutic hypothermia often wait days before they can hold their child, and many never get the chance during cooling at all. This week on Journal Club, Daphna reviews a new Journal of Perinatology retrospective cohort from two level IV NICUs, 379 infants with HIE, where 28% were held during cooling. Held infants reached full oral feeds sooner, were more likely to go home on breast milk, and had shorter stays, but they were also less sick to begin with. Ben pushes on confounding, on the exclusion of infants who died, and on what equipment would make holding routine.----Association of parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia and NICU outcomes for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Nguyen TT, Glass HC, Chan N, Taketa E, Pineda R, Cornet MC, Miller MJ.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 22. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02753-3. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42332041Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailLate preterm babies born by cesarean fill our NICUs, and most of them are there for respiratory distress that resolves in a day or two. Could 20 minutes of CPAP in the operating room keep them out? This week on Journal Club, Ben and Daphna break down the PLaNT trial, a five center randomized pilot of prophylactic CPAP at 5 to 6 cm of water in spontaneously breathing infants born at 34 to 36 weeks by cesarean. They then sit down with senior author Dr. Edgardo Szyld to talk pneumothorax risk, the 35 to 36 week subgroup, consenting families, and what PLaNT 2 must prove.----Prophylactic CPAP at Cesarean Birth in Late-Preterm Newborns: A Multicenter RCT. Shah BA, DeShea L, Schmölzer GM, Josephsen JB, Fabres J, Wetzel EA, Rykovich H, Thomas A, Law B, Garrido C, Szyld E.Pediatrics. 2026 Aug 1;158(2):e2025070998. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-070998.PMID: 42457181 Clinical Trial.Association Between Delivery Room Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Neonatal Outcomes in Late Preterm and Term Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chin Y, Hill M, Sett A, Thomas N, Razak A.J Paediatr Child Health. 2026 Jul 28. doi: 10.1111/jpc.70516. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42517258 Review.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhen is surfactant "early," and when is it too early, or too late? In this second installment of our two-part series with the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, Ben Courchia sits down with Dr. Roger Soll, a leading voice in surfactant research since the 1980s, to trace how our thinking on timing has evolved, from aggressive prophylactic dosing to selective rescue therapy to today's less invasive approaches like LISA and SALSA. Dr. Soll unpacks why head-to-head trials keep favoring less invasive administration over InSurE, and how the rise of "nanopreemies" is quietly pulling the pendulum back toward earlier treatment. The conversation also touches on video laryngoscopy and aerosolized surfactant's unfulfilled promise. A candid, technically rich conversation for anyone who has stood at a warmer wondering whether, and when, to reach for surfactant. Dr. Soll expands on these themes at the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, September 10 to 11, 2026, at Indiana University School of Medicine. Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhich babies with critical congenital heart disease face the highest risk of brain injury, and does earlier surgery actually help? Why is infant CHD mortality climbing again after years of decline, and who's most affected? Can a mother's cardiovascular status in preeclampsia predict her newborn's circulatory transition? This week's Journal Club brings together five conversations on CHD, maternal-fetal physiology, and vaccine policy. Nim and Adrianne cover a meta-analysis on brain injury in critical CHD, a 25-year national mortality study, a pilot study on preeclampsia and neonatal cardiac output, and a look at RV diastolic function after CHD intervention. Ben and Eli close with Neo News on a controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Neo News, Ben and Eli break down a troubling story in vaccine policy: an unsolicited $1.6 million CDC grant funding a Danish research group's trial in Guinea-Bissau, one designed to withhold or delay the hepatitis B birth dose from thousands of newborns in a country where the disease is highly endemic. They trace the ethical parallels to Tuskegee, the funding irregularities, and the pushback from the Africa CDC that halted the study. They also cover the clinical stakes clinicians face daily, including age-dependent chronicity and the real risks of a "safe" two-month delay. A candid, unfiltered conversation about advocating for evidence-based care when the evidence itself becomes politicized.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this prospective study, Adrianne and Nim dig into an area with almost no normative pediatric data: right ventricular diastolic function. Comparing 57 infants with RV pressure overload after intervention for pulmonic stenosis or tetralogy of Fallot to 134 healthy controls, the authors found a consistent pattern, reduced beat-to-beat variability, a higher atrial contribution to filling, and an E/A ratio inversion that was nearly universal in the CHD group versus about half of controls. It's one of the first real attempts to define what a right-sided diastolic pattern actually looks like in this population. But without a comparison against cardiac catheterization, the hosts agree the findings are hypothesis-generating at best, a starting point for a multi-parametric approach, not a reason to skip an invasive workup.----Echocardiographic Markers of Right Ventricle Diastolic Dysfunction in Neonates and Infants with Congenital Heart Disease. Cantinotti M, Capponi G, Scalese M, Palladino E, Giordano R, Franchi E, Viacava C, Corana G, Marchese P, Pizzuto A, Assanta N, Santoro G. J Clin Med. 2025 Dec 23;15(1):98. doi: 10.3390/jcm15010098. PMID: 41517351 Free PMC article.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

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Send us Fan MailIn this small prospective pilot study, Adrianne and Nim explore a domain rarely discussed on rounds, how a mother's cardiovascular function in preeclampsia shapes her newborn's circulatory transition. Using maternal echo and neonatal electrical cardiometry across 13 mother-baby dyads, the authors found an inverse relationship: the worse the mother's cardiac function, the higher the neonate's cardiac output, though vascular tone barely budged. It's a compelling hypothesis about placental strain and fetal adaptation. But Nim pushes back hard on the methodology, pairing this paper with a companion study showing electrical cardiometry consistently overestimates cardiac output in neonates, and questioning why daily echoes were performed on these babies but the results never reported.----Linking maternal and neonatal circulation in preeclampsia. Piani F, Annesi L, Degli Esposti D, Vincenzi S, De Crescenzo S, Della Gatta AN, Simonazzi G, Corvaglia L, Martini S.Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2026 Mar 1;330(3):H708-H716. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00945.2025. Epub 2026 Jan 12.PMID: 41525138 Free article.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this retrospective national study, Adrianne and Nim look at 25 years of congenital heart disease mortality in the US using CDC WONDER data. Infant mortality remains staggeringly high (54 per 100,000), and after years of steady decline, it has been climbing again since 2014. Disparities run throughout: higher deaths among males, non-Hispanic Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and in rural, Midwestern regions, pointing more to gaps in access and resources than to disease biology. The conversation also flags a growing, under-discussed problem, an aging adult congenital population outpacing the pediatric one for the first time, with too few specialists trained to care for them.----National Trends and Disparities in Congenital Heart Disease Mortality in the United States, 1999-2024.Raja S, Albrahim MMS, Aldhafeeri BF, Omar AA, Alqadeeb BA, Alhuways MM, Bangaryd AA, Alqahtany MG, Alfaraj AB, Almughyir RS, AlRasheed ST, Alfaifi M. Pediatr Cardiol. 2026 Jan 13. doi: 10.1007/s00246-025-04156-1. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41528440Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this systematic review and meta-analysis, Nim and Adrianne dig into just how common brain injury really is in neonates with critical congenital heart disease. Pooling 31 studies spanning two decades, the authors found that nearly 70% of these babies show some form of ischemic brain injury, split roughly between pre-operative and post-operative timing. Counter to what most clinicians would predict, kids who went to surgery earlier (days 4-6) had higher rates of white matter injury than those who waited longer. MRI remained the most sensitive tool for picking up these lesions, well ahead of ultrasound or CT. But the data stops well short of proving these findings predict long-term outcomes, and Nim pushes back on the idea that an abnormal scan alone should steer decisions about whether to operate.----Prevalence of Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Kim C, Chetan D, Kazazian V, Alzamil J, Chau V, Seed M, Miller SP, Selvanathan T.Neurology. 2026 Feb 10;106(3):e214569. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000214569. Epub 2026 Jan 9.PMID: 41512205Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat if communication were treated as a procedure, something we train for and get feedback on, just like an intubation?  In this episode of Neo News, Eli Cahan talks with Dr. Jessica Fry of Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital about her NeoReviews piece, "Recognizing Communication as a Procedural Skill in Neonatology." Dr. Fry shares the personal loss that shaped her career, the ethical stakes of getting family communication right, and how trauma-informed care can guide something as simple as how we address parents on rounds. They discuss the critical first 48 hours after admission and how simulation-based training can build real skill over time. A candid look at a skill every NICU provider uses daily, and how we can all get better at it. Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailHow far has delivery room ventilation really come? In this special episode, recorded in collaboration with the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, Ben sits down with Dr. Charles Roehr, professor of neonatology and perinatal medicine at the University of Bristol, clinical trialist at the University of Oxford, and member of ILCOR. Together they trace the evolution of respiratory support at birth, from the era of fixed inflation breaths to today's focus on physiologic stability and gentle cardiopulmonary transition. Dr. Roehr reflects on a quarter century of resuscitation science, the enduring challenge of human factors in the delivery room, and where the field may be heading, from better intrapartum monitoring to increasingly specialized resuscitation teams.Dr. Roehr will be delivering a keynote, "Optimizing Effective Ventilation Strategies in the Delivery Room," at the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, taking place September 10 to 11 at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Learn more and register here: https://medicine.iu.edu/pediatrics/specialties/neonatal-perinatal/education/resuscitation-symposium Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhich PDAs actually need treatment? Can maternal voice and scent shape language outcomes? Should we cool at 35 weeks? And did stepping away from probiotics come at a cost? This week's Journal Club takes on five papers that push back on standard practice. Ben reviews the SMART-PDA trial and a comparative study of PDA pharmacotherapy, Daphna covers the MIND trial on multisensory maternal interventions and a Pediatrix database study on NEC after the FDA probiotic warning, and Ben rounds out the main segment with a national look at hypothermia in 35-week infants with HIE. Ben and Eli wrap the week with Neo News on rising vitamin K refusal.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailVitamin K refusal has crossed 5%. That's one in twenty babies, and the curve is bending the wrong way. Ben and Eli work through a new Pediatrics case review that opens with a warning shot, that hemorrhagic presentation in an infant should no longer be a diagnostic mystery, alongside a JAMA letter tracking refusal from 2.9% in 2017 to 5.2% in 2024. Eighty-one times the risk. Intracranial hemorrhage in most late-onset cases. Twenty percent mortality. They talk about the halo effect on other refusals, the ICD code you should be using, and why this conversation belongs in the obstetrics office, not the nursery.----Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding After Refusal: A Sentinel Event in a Misinformation Era. Jacobs JW, Booth GS, Wheeler AP, Adkins BD.Pediatrics. 2026 May 1;157(5):e2026075994. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-075994.PMID: 41916583 No abstract available.Trends in Vitamin K Administration Among Infants. Scott K, Miller E, Culhane JF, Greenspan J, Handley SC, Lo JY, Knake LA, McKenney KM, Burris HH, Dysart K.JAMA. 2026 Jan 20;335(3):272-274. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.21460.PMID: 41359326 Free PMC article.Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth https://www.propublica.org/article/more-parents-decline-vitamin-k-shot-newbornsSupport the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhen the FDA warning landed in late 2023, probiotic use in high-use NICUs collapsed from 86% to under 7% almost overnight. What happened to NEC? This week Daphna brings Tolia and Patel's new Journal of Perinatology analysis of the Pediatrix Clinical Data Warehouse, a natural experiment across 347 NICUs and more than 10,000 extremely preterm infants. Centers that stopped saw NEC climb from 2.7% to 4.4%. Centers that never used probiotics saw nothing change. Ben and Daphna work through the difference-in-differences model, the demographic imbalances, and the uncomfortable question underneath it all. When does data stop and advocacy begin?----Probiotics and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants after the food and drug administration warning actions. Tolia VN, Bennett MM, Handler D, Canvasser J, Greenberg RG, Ursprung R, Ahmad KA, Patel RM.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 2. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02712-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42225922Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailCooling works at 36 weeks. At 35 weeks, nobody is sure. Ben brings a new Journal of Perinatology analysis of the National Inpatient Sample, covering 1.4 million infants from 2016 to 2022, asking what happens when therapeutic hypothermia is offered just below the evidence line. Cooled 35-weekers died at higher rates than cooled 36-weekers, but within the 35-week group, cooling changed nothing either way. Coagulopathy rose with cooling. Mediation analysis says it wasn't the cause. Ben and Daphna work through what that leaves us, and why shared decision making and careful documentation carry the weight here----Therapeutic hypothermia and in-hospital mortality in 35-week infants with encephalopathy. Aly H, Eltaly H, Mohamed FA, Saker F, Acun C, Mohamed MA.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 3. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02738-2. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42236997Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Carla Barstow, DVM, MS, DACT explains how to use puppy APGAR scoring to recognize distress in neonates. Designed to capture puppy vitality, the puppy APGAR scoring system rates neonatal performance in five areas that are key to survival.Watch the video version of the presentation here.

Send us Fan MailIn this Journal Club, Daphna takes the reins with the MIND randomized controlled trial from Nathalie Maitre and colleagues in The Journal of Pediatrics. Can a multisensory bundle, combining infant-directed voice, a parent's scent, holding, and gentle containment, do more for a preterm baby's developing brain than recorded voice alone? Using event-related potentials to track how infants tell speech sounds apart, the team followed language outcomes all the way to age two. Daphna and Ben unpack the design, the Bayley and PLS-5 findings, and a takeaway every clinician can act on tomorrow. Talk to the baby, every single time.----The MIND Randomized Controlled Trial: An Intervention to Improve Neural Speech Processing and 2-Year Language Outcomes of Infants Born Preterm. Maitre NL, Kjeldsen CP, Jeanvoine A, Lukemire J, Slaughter JL, Key AP.J Pediatr. 2026 Jun 5:115187. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2026.115187. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42250747Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this Journal Club, Ben and Daphna dig into two new papers on PDA management in our smallest patients. First, the SMART-PDA pilot RCT from Souvik Mitra and colleagues, which uses comprehensive hemodynamic screening to selectively treat high-volume shunts in infants born before 26 weeks, and whose striking Bayesian signal for reduced pulmonary hemorrhage and NEC stopped the trial early. Then a companion JAMA Network Open comparative effectiveness study across four pharmacotherapy regimens. Along the way, Ben shares hemodynamics pearls from his Montreal training: why left ventricular output, LA:Ao ratio, and transductal velocity matter more than PDA diameter alone.----Selective early medical treatment of the patent ductus arteriosus in extremely low gestational age infants: a pilot randomised controlled trial (SMART-PDA). Mitra S, Hebert A, Castaldo MP, Disher T, El-Naggar W, Dhillon S, Alhassen Z, Koo J, Katheria AC, Hyderi A, Kumaran K, Ting J, Surak A, Larocque J, Pepper D, Hornberger L, Makoni M, Weisz DE, Jain A, Bacchini F, Cameron-Nola AJJ, Hatfield T, Dorling J, McNamara PJ, Thabane L.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2026 May 18:fetalneonatal-2026-330462. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2026-330462. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42150872Pharmacologic Therapies for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Extremely Preterm Infants. Mitra S, Jain A, Ting JY, Ben Fadel N, Drolet C, Abou Mehrem A, Soraisham AS, Jasani B, Louis D, Lapointe A, Dorling J, Khurshid F, Hyderi A, Kumaran K, Toye J, Harabor A, Weisz DE, Stavel M, Morin A, Bhattacharya S, Lalitha R, Afifi J, Augustine S, Castaldo MP, Hatfield T, Su YC, Shah PS; Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jun 1;9(6):e2617477. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.17477.PMID: 42262753 Free PMC article.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Scott, pediatrician, neonatologist, and inventor of the Tortle. She shares how a simple observation in her Idaho practice, babies developing flat heads despite diligent parents, sparked a second career in medical device innovation. The conversation covers the evolution from the original corrective beanie to the Midliner and Transportal, the physiologic rationale for midline positioning in IVH prevention, and real-world data from a Tennessee children's hospital that cut its IVH rate from 28% to under 6%. She also offers candid advice for clinicians looking to turn an idea into a product.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailDoes the latest Cochrane evidence finally tip the balance in favor of erythropoiesis stimulating agents in preterm infants? In this VON Grand Rounds follow-up episode, Ben sits down with Dr. Roger Soll and Dr. Souvik Mitra to review the 2026 Cochrane systematic review on early ESA use in preterm newborns. Across 37 trials and over 6,000 infants, early ESAs consistently reduce the need for red blood cell transfusion. The review also confirms with high certainty that ESAs do not increase retinopathy of prematurity. The conversation covers shared decision making, drug selection, dosing, iron supplementation, and which patient populations should be prioritized.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailNeonatal sepsis physiology, steroids, vasopressors, and moms.gov. A full week on The Incubator Journal Club.Adrianne and Nim open with a retrospective study from Toronto challenging the assumption that hypoxemic respiratory failure in septic preterm infants is driven by elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. The data points instead to left ventricular dysfunction as a key contributor, raising questions about the reflex to reach for nitric oxide first.Nim then reviews a double-blind RCT from northern India evaluating early hydrocortisone versus placebo in neonatal fluid-refractory shock. The primary outcome did not reach statistical significance, but an 11 percent absolute reduction in mortality and a 70 percent open-label crossover rate tell a story of their own.Adrianne closes the journal club with a double-blind RCT comparing norepinephrine to dopamine for neonatal septic shock, finding no significant difference in shock reversal at 30 minutes, though significant methodological limitations make the findings hard to act on.Eli and Ben close the week on Neo News with a look at the newly launched moms.gov and what clinicians should know before their patients bring it up.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Neo News, Ben and Eli discuss the federal government's Mother's Day press conference and the launch of moms.gov, a new website aimed at supporting new and expecting mothers. They examine what the administration got right, including the real barriers families face in accessing maternal care and the economic challenges of having children in America today. They also dig into what the website links to, including Option Line, run by Heartbeat International, an organization with a specific position on abortion, and what that means for the information patients will actually receive. A grounded, clinically relevant conversation about a website your patients are already seeing.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this double-blind randomized controlled trial, Adrianne and Nim examine whether norepinephrine outperforms dopamine as a first-line vasoactive agent in neonates with fluid-refractory septic shock. The primary outcome, shock reversal at 30 minutes, was not significantly different between groups, at 32 percent for norepinephrine and 46 percent for dopamine. Secondary outcomes including mortality, IVH, NEC, and need for additional vasoactive support were also similar. The episode critically examines the methodological limitations of the study, including unclear sepsis definitions, absence of echo phenotyping, and unusually high starting doses, and asks whether the field needs better tools before these questions can be properly answered.----Norepinephrine versus Dopamine for Septic Shock in Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Mazhari MYA, Priyadarshi M, Singh P, Chaurasia S, Basu S.J Pediatr. 2025 Jul;282:114599. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114599. Epub 2025 Apr 17.PMID: 40252959 Clinical Trial.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this double-blind randomized controlled trial from northern India, Nim and Adrianne review whether early hydrocortisone reduces 14-day all-cause mortality in preterm infants with fluid-refractory shock. The primary outcome showed no statistically significant difference between groups, though an 11 percent absolute reduction in mortality in the hydrocortisone group raised clinical interest. A major limitation was the high rate of open-label steroid crossover, with over 70 percent of both groups ultimately receiving hydrocortisone. The study highlights the difficulty of achieving equipoise when clinicians already believe strongly in a therapy, and raises important questions about study design in neonatal shock research.----Early hydrocortisone verses placebo in neonatal shock- a double blind Randomized controlled trial. Dudeja S, Saini SS, Sundaram V, Dutta S, Sachdeva N, Kumar P.J Perinatol. 2025 Mar;45(3):342-349. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02222-3. Epub 2025 Feb 13.PMID: 39948354 Clinical Trial.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this retrospective single-center study from Toronto, Adrianne and Nim explore the echo findings of preterm infants with septic shock and hypoxemic respiratory failure. Contrary to the common assumption that elevated pulmonary vascular resistance drives hypoxemia in sepsis, the data points to left ventricular dysfunction as a key contributor. Babies with hypoxemic respiratory failure showed lower LV systolic and diastolic performance, while pulmonary pressures were similar between groups. Mortality was significantly higher in the hypoxemic group. This challenges the reflex to reach for nitric oxide first and asks clinicians to look at the whole heart.----Cardiopulmonary Physiology of Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure Among Preterm Infants with Septic Shock. Kharrat A, Nissimov S, Zhu F, Deshpande P, Jain A.J Pediatr. 2025 Mar;278:114384. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114384. Epub 2024 Nov 6.PMID: 39510164Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat would it really mean to shorten neonatology fellowship training to two years? In this episode, Ben and co-host Dr. Shetal Shah sit down with three division heads, Dr. Jill Maron (Brown), Dr. Patrick McNamara (University of Iowa), and Dr. Sarah Taylor (Yale), to examine the ABP's proposed changes from the perspective of those who run major academic NICUs. From the operational and financial strain of losing an entire class of third-year fellows, to the erosion of scholarly development, dwell time, and faculty wellbeing, the conversation makes clear that the costs of this proposal go far deeper than the curriculum. How do you staff an 80-bed NICU without junior fellows? Who funds the gap? And what happens to the next generation of academic neonatologists if we train them in isolation from the very experiences that shape their identity as clinicians and scholars?Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat does it mean to truly improve outcomes for very low birth weight infants, and are we actually doing it? In this episode, Daphna sits down with Dr. Joseph Kaempf, neonatologist and Medical Director of Value Research and Innovation at Providence Health System in Oregon, to examine some uncomfortable truths about neonatal quality improvement. Dr. Kaempf shares findings from a study spanning 16 NICUs over 14 years showing that composite morbidity outcomes have remained flat while length of stay has increased. He explores why traditional QI tools like driver diagrams and PDSA cycles may no longer be sufficient, and why augmented intelligence may be the next frontier. The conversation also touches on culture as a driver of NICU performance and the gap between institutional interests and true shared decision-making with families. A candid episode for anyone invested in the future of neonatology.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailPhototherapy duration, jaundice and UTIs, extended CPAP, and The Pitt. A full week on the Incubator Journal Club.Ben opens with a nationwide Swedish cohort study from JAMA Network Open examining phototherapy duration in nearly 5,000 very preterm infants. Longer phototherapy was not significantly associated with late neonatal mortality, but six to seven days was associated with significantly higher rates of severe neonatal morbidity. With 95% of the cohort receiving phototherapy, Ben and Daphna question how much evidence actually supports the near-universal practice.Daphna follows with a retrospective study from Istanbul showing that 31% of term and near-term neonates hospitalized for unexplained hyperbilirubinemia had culture-proven UTIs, with pathological renal ultrasound findings independently associated with a 4.6-fold increased odds of UTI.Ben then reviews the extended CPAP secondary analysis by Mamidi and McEvoy, showing that two additional weeks of bubble CPAP reduced intermittent hypoxemia episodes from 151.7 to 57.6 compared to discontinued CPAP.Daphna closes with the NEOASP five-day UTI treatment guideline from Nationwide Children's Hospital, where a structured stewardship approach yielded a 1% failure rate.Ben and Eli close the week reflecting on The Pitt and what it reveals about the broken realities of American healthcare.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Neo News, Ben and Eli discuss the cultural phenomenon of HBO Max's new hit medical drama, The Pitt. Sparked by an insightful critique in The New Yorker by Dr. Dhruv Khullar, they dive into why this Noah Wyle-led series is capturing the attention of millions of Americans, including healthcare workers and patients alike. They explore how the show's unflinching portrayal of systemic failures, from ER overcrowding to uninsured patients leaving against medical advice, mirrors their daily reality in the hospital. Tune in as they discuss whether the shared humanity seen on screen can bridge the gap between doctors and patients or simply highlight the exhausting "pit" of modern medicine!----The Pitt: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/what-the-pitt-taught-me-about-being-a-doctorSupport the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIs five days of antibiotics enough to treat a urinary tract infection in a NICU infant? In this Journal Club episode, Ben and Daphna review a single-center study from Nationwide Children's Hospital examining adherence and safety of a five-day antibiotic treatment guideline for culture and urinalysis-proven UTIs in the NICU. Among 77 infants with 93 bacterial UTIs, the five-day course was associated with a 1% failure rate, defined as reinitiation of antibiotics within seven days for the same organism. The episode also explores the potential role of enteral antibiotic therapy and what shorter treatment courses could mean for babies still weeks away from discharge.----Urinary tract infection in the neonatal intensive care unit. Magers J, Burton A, Prusakov P, White NO, Miller RR, Moraille R, Theile AR, Sánchez PJ; Nationwide Children's Hospital Neonatal Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (NEO-ASP).J Perinatol. 2026 May;46(5):754-760. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02690-1. Epub 2026 Apr 29.PMID: 42056240 Free PMC article.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat happens to intermittent hypoxemia when you keep a stable preterm infant on CPAP for two extra weeks? In this Journal Club episode, Ben and Daphna review a secondary analysis from the Journal of Pediatrics by Mamidi and McEvoy. Among 95 infants randomized to either two additional weeks of bubble CPAP on room air or discontinued CPAP, those in the extended CPAP group experienced significantly fewer intermittent hypoxemia episodes (57.6 versus 151.7), higher baseline saturations, and greater functional residual capacity. The episode also touches on the practical implications for units navigating oral feeding protocols alongside extended CPAP.----Extended Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Infants Born Preterm Decreases Intermittent Hypoxemia: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Mamidi RR, Go MDA, Harris J, Olson M, Milner K, Tepper RS, Morris C, Park B, Schelonka R, MacDonald KD, McEvoy CT.J Pediatr. 2026 May 25:115165. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2026.115165. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42190903Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this Journal Club episode, Daphna reviews a retrospective cohort study from Istanbul examining clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound factors associated with UTI in neonates hospitalized for unexplained hyperbilirubinemia. Among 96 term and near-term infants, 31% had culture-proven UTIs, a striking prevalence. Pathological renal ultrasound findings were independently associated with UTI, with affected neonates 4.6 times more likely to have a concurrent infection. Notably, standard laboratory markers including CRP and white blood cell count failed to distinguish UTI-positive from UTI-negative infants. The findings prompt a practical question: should urine culture be part of the routine workup for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia?----Renal ultrasonography findings are associated with urinary tract infection in neonates with asymptomatic hyperbilirubinemia. Sarı EE, Salihoğlu Ö.J Perinatol. 2026 Apr 13. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02686-x. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41975209Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this Journal Club episode, Ben and Daphna review a nationwide Swedish cohort study examining the association between phototherapy duration and neonatal outcomes in very preterm infants (22 to 31 weeks). The study's primary outcome, late neonatal mortality on days 8 to 27, was not significantly associated with phototherapy duration. However, longer phototherapy exposure was associated with increased odds of severe neonatal morbidity, including IVH and BPD, in infants born at 26 to 31 weeks. The findings prompt an important conversation about the near-universal use of phototherapy in preterm neonates and whether current practice warrants reassessment.----Phototherapy, Morbidity, and Mortality in Very Preterm Newborns. Deschmann E, Håkansson S, Söderling J, Norman M.JAMA Netw Open. 2026 May 1;9(5):e2614107. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.14107.PMID: 42166159 Free PMC article.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat if closing a PDA could be done at the bedside in under 10 minutes, without transporting a fragile preterm infant to the cath lab? Dr. Shyam Sathanandam, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute, joins us to discuss the evolution of transcatheter PDA closure in extremely preterm infants. We cover how bedside procedures protect the most vulnerable neonates, which infants are most likely to benefit from closure, the learning curve and complication profile, and Dr. Sathanandam's vision of eventually training neonatologists to perform this procedure themselves.Dr. Shyam Sathanandam has consulting and compensation relationships with Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic, both relevant to topics discussed in this episode.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailOpioid withdrawal dosing, intranasal breast milk, human milk fortification in Japan, neonatal dysphagia, and vaccine policy. A full week on the Incubator Journal Club.Ben opens with the Optimized NOW trial in JAMA: symptom-based dosing reduced time to medical readiness for discharge by nearly two and a half days in NOWS infants managed with Eat Sleep Console, and allowed 65% of pharmacologically treated infants to avoid scheduled opioids entirely.Daphna reviews a small RCT out of Turkey showing improved cerebral oxygenation and favorable vital sign trends after intranasal breast milk administration in preterm infants, adding to the growing tolerability data for this intervention.Ben then covers the JASMINE trial, a Phase 3 RCT in Japan showing significantly better weight gain velocity with an exclusive human milk diet in very low birth weight infants.Daphna closes with a retrospective cohort study on FEES-confirmed dysphagia in preterm infants. Of those who met criteria for evaluation, every single one had laryngeal penetration and 57% were aspirating.Ben and Eli close the week on the quiet dismantling of vaccine infrastructure in the US and what it means for the populations in your NICU.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailIn this fast-paced episode of Neo News, Eli and Ben tackle the rapidly shifting landscape of vaccine regulation and economics in the US. They discuss recent political maneuvers surrounding the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and how expanding liability could quietly push manufacturers out of the market entirely. The hosts also examine the FDA's recent hesitation to review Moderna's new mRNA flu vaccine, highlighting how these administrative roadblocks threaten the financial viability of developing novel vaccines—including critical immunizations for pediatric and neonatal populations. Tune in for a sharp analysis of how top-down policy changes might reshape everyday clinical practice!----1) https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5689850-kennedy-dismisses-vaccine-advisors/2) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/15/rfk-jr-vaccines-autism-vicp/3) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/health/fda-moderna-flu-vaccine-mrna.html4) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/health/rfk-vaccine-manufacturers.htmlSupport the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailHow often are we missing dysphagia in our most vulnerable NICU patients? In this episode of Journal Club, Daphna reviews a retrospective cohort study from the Journal of Perinatology examining the incidence and risk factors of dysphagia confirmed by flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in very preterm and very low birth weight infants. Among infants showing persistent feeding difficulties at 38 weeks post-menstrual age, laryngeal penetration was detected in all infants who underwent FEES, and tracheal aspiration in nearly 60%. Ben and Daphna discuss whether we are naming dysphagia for what it is, whether earlier instrumental assessment could change outcomes, and what it means for families to finally understand why their baby is struggling to feed.----Incidence and factors associated with dysphagia in infants born very preterm or very low birth weight. Reynolds J, Suterwala M, Desai S, Chiruvolu A.J Perinatol. 2026 Apr 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02701-1. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42056238Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailWhat does it take to turn a single struggling baby into a national standard of care? In this episode, Ben sits down with Professor Katsumi Mizuno (Showa Medical University) and Dr. Melinda Elliott (Chief Medical Officer, Prolacta Bioscience) to discuss the landmark Jasmine Trial, the first randomized controlled trial of an exclusive human milk diet (EHMD) in Japan. The results: significantly better weight and length gain, fewer antibiotic days, and improved feeding tolerance in very preterm infants. After an eight-year regulatory journey, Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) granted Prolacta's human milk-based fortifier PrimiFort drug-level designation, a global first, ensuring equitable, nationally reimbursed access for every preterm infant in the country. The conversation also looks ahead to the Fuji Trial and what Japan's precedent-setting decision could mean for Europe and the US.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailJapan has some of the best survival rates for extremely preterm infants in the world, yet feeding practices there look very different from what many of us are used to. In this episode of Journal Club, Ben reviews the JASMINE trial, a multicenter phase three randomized controlled trial evaluating an exclusive human milk diet compared to a standard cow milk-based diet in very low birth weight infants in Japan. Infants on an exclusive human milk diet gained weight significantly faster, reached full feeds six days sooner, and had fewer antibiotic days. Ben then sits down with first author Professor Katsumi Mizuno and Dr. Melinda Elliott, CMO of Prolacta Bioscience, to discuss the backstory and broader implications of this landmark trial.---Growth and safety evaluation in very low birth weight infants receiving an exclusive human milk diet: a phase III randomized control trial in Japan. Mizuno K, Miyazawa T, Kondo U, Nishikubo T, Yamamoto Y, Nakano Y, Hiroma T, Ikeda K, Murase M, Jimi H, Hokuto I, Miyata M.J Perinatol. 2026 Apr 27. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02695-w. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42045666Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!

Send us Fan MailCould putting a few drops of breast milk in a preterm infant's nose actually improve cerebral oxygenation? In this episode of Journal Club, Daphna reviews a randomized controlled trial from the European Journal of Pediatrics investigating the physiologic effects of intranasal expressed breast milk (EBM) administration in preterm infants. The study found that infants receiving 0.2 mL of fresh breast milk intranasally three times daily showed significantly higher cerebral oxygenation levels, along with more favorable trends in heart rate and respiratory rate, compared to controls. While time to full oral feeding and length of hospital stay were unchanged, the safety data is reassuring. Ben and Daphna discuss what outcomes we should even be measuring, and whether the evidence is already good enough to just do it.----Effect of intranasal breast milk administration on cerebral oxygenation, vital signs, and transition time to full oral feeding in preterm infants: a randomized controlled study. Yücel A, Küçükoğlu S, Konak M.Eur J Pediatr. 2026 Apr 16;185(5):272. doi: 10.1007/s00431-026-06922-6.PMID: 41986747Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!