Medical Bulletin 7/June/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Close contact intervention between a mother and her premature baby may reduce of mortality risk

A method of care involving skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her prematurely born or low birth weight baby appears to impact the child's chances of survival significantly, suggests a study published online in the journal BMJ Global Health. Starting the intervention within 24 hours of birth and carrying it out for at least eight hours a day both appear to make the approach even more effective in reducing mortality and infection, researchers found.

The method of care known as ‘Kangaroo mother care’ (KMC) involves an infant being carried, usually by the mother, in a sling with skin-to-skin contact and many studies already carried out have shown this is a way of reducing mortality and the risk of infection for the child. The World Health Organization recommends it as the standard of care among low birth weight infants after clinical stabilisation.

Reference:

Kangaroo mother care for preterm or low birth weight infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis,BMJ Global Health,DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-010728

No serious side effects COVID-19 vaccination in young children

A review of more than 245,000 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines given to young children (most of them age 4 and younger) found no indications of serious side effects.

The data came from the Vaccine Safety Datalink, which collects patient medical information from 8 health systems. The researchers examined patient records from June 2022 to March 2023 for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Reference:

Kristin Goddard et al,Safety of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination Among Young Children in the Vaccine Safety Datalink,PEDIATRICS

Virtual blood vessel technology can improve care for heart disease

Patients with heart disease could benefit from less extensive interventions thanks to cutting-edge technology that creates 3D computer models of blood flow through the heart's arteries, according to research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society in Manchester.

When the research team trialed the VIRTUHeartTM technology with doctors treating heart attack patients, they found that using it would have changed the treatment of more than 20 per cent of patients. In many cases, it would have led to fewer patients undergoing an invasive procedure such as having a stent fitted.

Reference:

Dr Hazel Arfah Haley et al,BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION