Effects of steroids, indomethacin in preterm infants | Preterm birth may up heart failure risk in adulthood | Out-of-state care presents challenge for kids on Medicaid
Babies born at 26 weeks or earlier had spontaneous intestinal perforation if given a combination of antenatal steroids and prophylactic indomethacin, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The retrospective study of infants in the Canadian Neonatal Network units also associated prophylactic indomethacin with lower chances of mortality.
Researchers found that preterm birth was associated with an increased risk of developing heart failure in adulthood. The findings in JAMA Pediatrics also showed that the risk was linked to younger gestational age and was highest among those born extremely prematurely.
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Some states are considering legislation or working out deals that allow for higher Medicaid reimbursements for out-of-state children's hospitals that provide specialized care for pediatric patients. Children's hospitals want reimbursements equal to what in-state hospitals are paid, but Medicaid officials and state Medicaid directors are concerned about costs.
A coalition of medical groups sent a letter to Congress expressing support for two recently introduced bills that aim to address shortages of resident physicians across the US, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 "is crucial to expanding the physician workforce to ensure that patients across the country are able to access quality care from providers," the groups wrote in the letter.
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A small study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that pregnant women who had received either the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in their third trimester had a strong immune response after vaccination, indicating that the vaccines protect pregnant women against COVID-19, and that a longer time between vaccination and delivery was linked to greater transfer of COVID-19 antibodies to the baby. The findings, based on data from 27 pregnant women and their babies, also showed that mothers who received a second dose of the two-dose vaccines prior to delivery were more likely to transfer COVID-19 antibodies to their infants.
A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association documented 63,862 new pediatric COVID-19 cases for the week ending April 1, down from the previous week's 64,029 cases. There have been nearly 3.47 million pediatric cases of COVID-19 in 49 states (excluding New York), Washington, D.C., New York City, Puerto Rico and Guam since the start of the pandemic, accounting for 13.4% of all reported COVID-19 cases in those states.
More than 3,600 health care workers died of COVID-19 in the pandemic's first year, and many of those deaths could have been prevented with adequate supplies of masks and other personal protective equipment, more extensive COVID-19 testing, and better implementation of workplace safety rules, according to the Lost on the Frontline investigation. People of color accounted for two-thirds of the deaths, and risk of death during the pandemic was far higher among nurses, nursing home employees and support staff than physicians.
A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed 9 out of 10 physicians and nurses with graduate degrees were vaccinated against COVID-19 or will get vaccinated. Health care providers may be the best messengers for patients who are hesitant to get vaccinated, according to Kaiser.
