Sanford Health in Bismarck, ND has restricted visitor access to the neonatal intensive care unit due to an uptick in influenza and respiratory illnesses. Only symptom-free immediate family members are allowed to visit.

Twelve sets of twins are in the NICU at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. The number of twins appears to be a record for the hospital, and all were born five to 14 weeks early.

Canadian researchers found that babies born to mothers who had asthma exacerbations during pregnancy were 14% more likely to be born preterm, 14% more likely to have low birth weight and 21% more likely to have birth defects, as well as had 23% and 12% higher odds of developing asthma and pneumonia by age 5, respectively, compared with those whose mothers had asthma but didn't have asthma attacks during pregnancy. The findings in the European Respiratory Journal also associated prenatal asthma exacerbations with 30% and 17% increased preeclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension risk, respectively, among mothers.

The CDC's most recent Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report says drug-resistant infections kill 35,000 people in the US annually, and although the US has achieved an 18% reduction in mortality associated with these infections, challenges remain, write HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield. "The very nature of antibiotic resistance means that new threats are constantly emerging," they write.

Babies younger than 6 months in the ICU with respiratory failure-related intubation who were held for a mean duration of 99 minutes had no urinary catheter removals, unplanned extubations or central catheter removals and only had one arterial catheter removal unrelated to holding, compared with an unplanned extubation and two arterial catheter removals among controls who were not held, according to a study in the journal Critical Care Nurse. Researchers also found that those in the intervention group had similar vital signs before and during ICU holding, as well as had similar intubation duration and ICU and hospital lengths of stay, compared with controls.

Health care professionals and organizations can counteract vaccine misinformation by creating narrative posts and providing informational resources on Instagram, researchers reported in Health Education & Behavior. Researchers analyzed Instagram posts about the human papillomavirus vaccine and found that although 56% of the posts supported vaccination, engagement was highest with anti-vaccination posts that employed a narrative structure, garnering more positive engagement than posts that provided only informational resources.