RSV infection is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection, especially in High-risk infants with a history of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), congenital heart disease (CHD), neuromusculair impairment, immunodeficiency, and Down syndrome. Host related risk factors that have been identified to be associated with severe RSV related lower respiratory tract infection include young age below 6 months at the beginning of RSV season, multiple birth, male sex, low socioeconomic status and parental education, crowded living conditions, young siblings, maternal smoking and indoor smoke pollution, malnutrition/small for gestational age, family history of atopy or asthma, low cord serum RSV antibody titers, and living at altitude. Risk factors increasing the risk of acquisition of RSV have been identified to be birth before and/or during RSV season, day care attendance, presence of older siblings in school or day-care, and lack of breast feeding. Some of these risk factors are discussed controversially and some of them are found continuously throughout the literature. Given the high cost of RSV prophylaxis, especially for the large population of late preterm infants, algorithms and risk score systems have been published that could identify high-risk infants for treatment with palivizumab out of this gestational age group. Several models reported on an average sensitivity and specificity of 70 percent and, thus, are helpful to identify infants at high risk for severe RSV infection and need for prophylaxis with palivizumab.

This is a narrative review on the role of biomarkers in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. We describe the difficulties to obtain standardized definitions in neonatal sepsis and discuss the limitations of published evidence of cut-off values and their sensitivities and specificities. Maternal risk factors influence the results of inflammatory markers as do gestational age, the time of sampling, the use of either cord blood or neonatal peripheral blood, and some non-infectious causes. Current evidence suggests that the use of promising diagnostic markers such as CD11b, CD64, IL-6, IL-8, PCT, and CRP, either alone or in combination, might enable clinicians discontinuing antibiotics confidently within 24–48 h. However, none of the current diagnostic markers is sensitive and specific enough to support the decision of withholding antibiotic treatment without considering clinical findings. It therefore seems to be justified that antibiotics are often initiated in ill term and especially preterm infants. Early markers like IL-6 and later markers like CRP are helpful in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis considering the clinical aspect of the neonate, the gestational age, maternal risk factors and the time (age of the neonate regarding early-onset sepsis) of blood sampling.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) accounts for about 20% of all respiratory infections in children below the age of 5 y. It is associated with up to 63% of all acute respiratory infections and up to 81% of all viral lower respiratory tract infections causing hospitalization in infants and young children. RSV leads to seasonal epidemics between November and April in the northern hemisphere. Most severe infections (RSV accounts for 50 to 80% of all cause bronchiolitis) affect infants younger than 6 months of age and high-risk infants including those born preterm with or without bronchopulmonary dysplasia and those with hemodynamically significant congenital heart disease up to an age of 24 months. Palivizumab, a highly potent RSV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody (Mab), has been licensed in 1998 for prophylactic use to prevent RSV associated hospitalizations in high-risk infants. This Mab is given by monthly intramuscular injection at a dose of 15 mg/kg over the RSV season (up to 5 times). Palivizumab proved to be safe and well-tolerated in this population. Concerns have been raised regarding cost-effectiveness of palivizumab and thus, palivizumab prophylaxis is mainly limited to selected high-risk infants for the first RSV season. Long-lasting Mabs will be the next future approach in the prophylaxis of RSV hospitalization until a vaccine is developed.

Background: Congenital chylothorax (CCT) of the newborn is a rare entity but the most common cause of pleural effusion in this age-group. We aimed to find the optimal treatment strategy. Material and Methods: A PubMed search was performed according to the PRISMA criteria. All cases were analyzed according to prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal treatment modalities and follow-ups. Results: We identified 753 cases from 157 studies published between 1990 and 2018. The all-cause mortality rate was 28%. Prematurity was present in 71%, male gender dominated 57%, mean gestational age was 34 weeks, and birth weight was 2,654 g. Seventy-nine percent of newborns had bilateral CCT, the most common associated congenital anomalies with CCT were pulmonary lymphangiectasia and pulmonary hypoplasia, and the most common chromosomal aberrations were Down, Noonan, and Turner syndromes, respectively. Mechanical ventilation was reported in 381 cases for mean 17 (range 1–120) days; pleural punctuations and drainages were performed in 32% and 64%, respectively. Forty-four percent received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for mean 21 days, 46% medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) diet for mean 37 days, 20% octreotide, and 3% somatostatin; chemical pleurodesis was performed in 116 cases, and surgery was reported in 48 cases with a success rate of 69%. In 462 cases (68%), complete restitution was reported; in 34 of 44 cases (77%), intrauterine intervention was carried out. Conclusion: Respiratory support, pleural drainages, TPN, and MCT diet as octreotide remain to be the cornerstones of CCT management. Pleurodesis with OK-432 done prenatally and povidone-iodine postnatally might be discussed for use in life-threatening CCT.