Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Pietro Sciacca
NICU- University of Catania, Italy
Keynote: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of prematurity in preschool children: Our experience
Time : 09:30-10:10
Biography:
Pietro Sciacca, PhD, works in the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Catania (Italy) as Pediatrician and Neonatologist with main interest in Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Bronchopneumology since 1985. He is a Professor of Clinic of Heart Malformations in Neonatologic Cardiology Post-graduate Course, of BAN of the University of Catania and of the Pediatric Cardiology Master of University of Messina.Pietro Sciacca, PhD, works in the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Catania (Italy) as Pediatrician and Neonatologist with main interest in Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Bronchopneumology since 1985. He is a Professor of Clinic of Heart Malformations in Neonatologic Cardiology Post-graduate Course, of BAN of the University of Catania and of the Pediatric Cardiology Master of University of Messina.
Abstract:
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is the most common respiratory disorder that affects chronically preterms with immature lungs. On this base it seems extremely pressing to investigate the consequences of BPD also in preschool children to assess the incidence of respiratory disease and the cardiovascular impact, focusing on functional study of right ventricle whose parameters can be used as an index of bronchopulmonary impairment. The population study includes 105 premature born between January 2008 and December 2012 with GA<33 week; BW<1800 gr; No malformations or surgeries. The echocardiography study has evaluated: L Ventricular Ejection Fraction (EFVS %); Tricuspidal Annular Plane Systolic Excursion (TAPSE); Pulmonary Artery Pressure (PAP); Right Ventricle Isovolumic Relaxation Time (IVRT); Right Ventricle Isovolumic Contraction Time (IVCT). The control group included 30 pre-school children born at term. In 35 cooperating infants, we have evaluated the lung function by the opening interrupter technique (OIT) with the measurement of airway resistance (RINT) (ratio between pressure change and flow). The presence of airway obstruction was detected as a value of RINT higher than 1.20. As results our data have shown: recurrent respiratory infections in 45.7%; upper air way obstruction in 22.3%. We found higher values of RINT in 69/105 (65.7%). The echocardiograph assessment has highlighted higher values of PAP (30 versus 20.7 mmHG) and lower values IVCT (64.75 versus 74.55) in preterm than in the control group, both with a statistical difference (p<0.05). Our data have shown: recurrent respiratory infections in 45.7%; upper air way obstruction in 22.3%. We found higher values of RINT in 69/105 (65.7%). Our results showed a significantly higher incidence of respiratory issues, also before 4 years of age, in ex-preterm subjects than in the general population. The subclinical cardiovascular involvement of right cardiac sections, with an increment of PAP and an alteration of IVCT was significantly related to the incidence of respiratory issues. Right ventricle parameters have also been demonstrated useful for lung disease’s follow-up in preschool children because they are easy to obtain and repeat and need just a bit of cooperation usually obtainable in almost all infants. Our data concerning not only increased incidence of wheezing, but of other respiratory issues contribute to recent definition of “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of prematurity” as a nosographic entity encompassing: asthma, need for respiratory hospitalization, more frequent bronchopulmonary infec tions and clinical subclinical pulmonary hypertension with right ventricle impairment that is typical of grown Bronchodisplastic survivors.
Keynote Forum
Minna Huotilainen
University of Helsinki, Finland
Keynote: Effects of Kangaroo care combined with singing for the benefit of the auditory system development in prematurely born infants- brain recordings with ERPs and MEG
Biography:
Minna Huotilainen works at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden. She is internationally known for her work in the magnetoencephalographic recordings of human fetuses, showing memory-related brain activity. Her work in fetal auditory learning both for speech sounds and for musical sounds is also highly respected. She has published more than 150 journal articles mainly with ERPs and MEG.He is a top 2.5% scholar worldwide according to Research Gate.
Abstract:
Our project aims at studying the effects of singing during Kangaroo care on the development of the auditory system of infants who were born preterm. Previous research shows that the auditory system during the last trimester of pregnancy is a time of fast learning and development. Premature birth can pose a risk for learning in the form of changes in environment:Fetal-uteral sounds are replaced with NICU sounds, providing sound features very different from those relevant to speech perception. Listening to singing and engaging in singing activities may contribute to the development of the auditory system in typically developing children and in children with language-related or auditory challenges. Our goal was to test an intervention group (singing during Kangaroo care) against a control group (silence during Kangaroo care) in terms of brain development and language abilities. We used a specific multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) stimulus paradigm to study the auditory responses with ERPs and MEG to semantic and prosodic speech changes. The paradigm captures efficiently the capabilities of the auditory system to discriminate changes in phoneme duration, frequency, intensity, identity, as well as in the prosodicemotional changes from neutral to angry, happy or sad, including the attentional effects caused by the changes. Our recordings, at present, reveal subtle changes in brain activity in prematurely born infants compared to full-term. In the conference, we will present comparisons between the intervention and control groups.