Browsing by Author "Merhar, Stephanie"

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    Hydrocortisone to Improve Survival without Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
    (Massachusetts Medical Society, 2022-03-24) Watterberg, Kristi L.; Walsh, Michele C.; Li, Lei; Chawla, Sanjay; D’Angio, Carl T.; Goldberg, Ronald N.; Hintz, Susan R.; Laughon, Matthew M.; Yoder, Bradley A.; Kennedy, Kathleen A.; McDavid, Georgia E.; Backstrom-Lacy, Conra; Das, Abhik; Crawford, Margaret M.; Keszler, Martin; Sokol, Gregory M.; Poindexter, Brenda B.; Ambalavanan, Namasivayam; Hibbs, Anna Maria; Truog, William E.; Schmidt, Barbara; Wyckoff, Myra H.; Khan, Amir M.; Garg, Meena; Chess, Patricia R.; Reynolds, Anne M.; Moallem, Mohannad; Bell, Edward F.; Meyer, Lauritz R.; Patel, Ravi M.; Van Meurs, Krisa P.; Cotten, C. Michael; McGowan, Elisabeth C.; Hines, Abbey C.; Merhar, Stephanie; Peralta-Carcelen, Myriam; Wilson-Costello, Deanne E.; Kilbride, Howard W.; DeMauro, Sara B.; Heyne, Roy J.; Mosquera, Ricardo A.; Natarajan, Girija; Purdy, Isabell B.; Lowe, Jean R.; Maitre, Nathalie L.; Harmon, Heidi M.; Hogden, Laurie A.; Adams-Chapman, Ira; Winter, Sarah; Malcolm, William F.; Higgins, Rosemary D.; Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Neonatal Research Network; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a prevalent complication after extremely preterm birth. Inflammation with mechanical ventilation may contribute to its development. Whether hydrocortisone treatment after the second postnatal week can improve survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia and without adverse neurodevelopmental effects is unknown. METHODS We conducted a trial involving infants who had a gestational age of less than 30 weeks and who had been intubated for at least 7 days at 14 to 28 days. Infants were randomly assigned to receive either hydrocortisone (4 mg per kilogram of body weight per day tapered over a period of 10 days) or placebo. Mandatory extubation thresholds were specified. The primary efficacy outcome was survival without moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age, and the primary safety outcome was survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental impairment at 22 to 26 months of corrected age. RESULTS We enrolled 800 infants (mean [±SD] birth weight, 715±167 g; mean gestational age, 24.9±1.5 weeks). Survival without moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks occurred in 66 of 398 infants (16.6%) in the hydrocortisone group and in 53 of 402 (13.2%) in the placebo group (adjusted rate ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93 to 1.74). Two-year outcomes were known for 91.0% of the infants. Survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental impairment occurred in 132 of 358 infants (36.9%) in the hydrocortisone group and in 134 of 359 (37.3%) in the placebo group (adjusted rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.81 to 1.18). Hypertension that was treated with medication occurred more frequently with hydrocortisone than with placebo (4.3% vs. 1.0%). Other adverse events were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS In this trial involving preterm infants, hydrocortisone treatment starting on postnatal day 14 to 28 did not result in substantially higher survival without moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia than placebo. Survival without moderate or severe neurodevelopmental impairment did not differ substantially between the two groups. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01353313.)
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    Neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants enrolled in myo-inositol randomized controlled trial
    (Springer Nature, 2021) Adams-Chapman, Ira; Watterberg, Kristi L.; Nolen, Tracy L.; Hirsch, Shawn; Cole, Carol A.; Cotten, C. Michael; Oh, William; Poindexter, Brenda B.; Zaterka-Baxter, Kristin M.; Das, Abhik; Backstrom Lacy, Conra; Scorsone, Ann Marie; Duncan, Andrea F.; DeMauro, Sara B.; Goldstein, Ricki F.; Colaizy, Tarah T.; Wilson-Costello, Deanne E.; Purdy, Isabell B.; Hintz, Susan R.; Heyne, Roy J.; Myers, Gary J.; Fuller, Janell; Merhar, Stephanie; Harmon, Heidi M.; Peralta-Carcelen, Myriam; Kilbride, Howard W.; Maitre, Nathalie L.; Vohr, Betty R.; Natarajan, Girija; Mintz-Hittner, Helen; Quinn, Graham E.; Wallace, David K.; Olson, Richard J.; Orge, Faruk H.; Tsui, Irena; Gaynon, Michael; Hutchinson, Amy K.; He, Yu-Guang; Winter, Timothy W.; Yang, Michael B.; Haider, Kathryn M.; Cogen, Martin S.; Hug, Denise; Bremer, Don L.; Donahue, John P.; Lucas, William R.; Phelps, Dale L.; Higgins, Rosemary D.; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Objective: This study evaluates the 24-month follow-up for the NICHD Neonatal Research Network (NRN) Inositol for Retinopathy Trial. Study design: Bayley Scales of Infants Development-III and a standardized neurosensory examination were performed in infants enrolled in the main trial. Moderate/severe NDI was defined as BSID-III Cognitive or Motor composite score <85, moderate or severe cerebral palsy, blindness, or hearing loss that prevents communication despite amplification were assessed. Results: Primary outcome was determined for 605/638 (95%). The mean gestational age was 25.8 ± 1.3 weeks and mean birthweight was 805 ± 192 g. Treatment group did not affect the risk for the composite outcome of death or survival with moderate/severe NDI (60% vs 56%, p = 0.40). Conclusions: Treatment group did not affect the risk of death or survival with moderate/severe NDI. Despite early termination, this study represents the largest RCT of extremely preterm infants treated with myo-inositol with neurodevelopmental outcome data.
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    Trial of Erythropoietin for Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy in Newborns
    (Massachusetts Medical Society, 2022) Wu, Yvonne W.; Comstock, Bryan A.; Gonzalez, Fernando F.; Mayock, Dennis E.; Goodman, Amy M.; Maitre, Nathalie L.; Chang, Taeun; Van Meurs, Krisa P.; Lampland, Andrea L.; Bendel-Stenzel, Ellen; Mathur, Amit M.; Wu, Tai-Wei; Riley, David; Mietzsch, Ulrike; Chalak, Lina; Flibotte, John; Weitkamp, Joern-Hendrik; Ahmad, Kaashif A.; Yanowitz, Toby D.; Baserga, Mariana; Poindexter, Brenda B.; Rogers, Elizabeth E.; Lowe, Jean R.; Kuban, Karl C. K.; O'Shea, T. Michael; Wisnowski, Jessica L.; McKinstry, Robert C.; Bluml, Stefan; Bonifacio, Sonia; Benninger, Kristen L.; Rao, Rakesh; Smyser, Christopher D.; Sokol, Gregory M.; Merhar, Stephanie; Schreiber, Michael D.; Glass, Hannah C.; Heagerty, Patrick J.; Juul, Sandra E.; HEAL Consortium; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Background: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is an important cause of death as well as long-term disability in survivors. Erythropoietin has been hypothesized to have neuroprotective effects in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, but its effects on neurodevelopmental outcomes when given in conjunction with therapeutic hypothermia are unknown. Methods: In a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned 501 infants born at 36 weeks or more of gestation with moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy to receive erythropoietin or placebo, in conjunction with standard therapeutic hypothermia. Erythropoietin (1000 U per kilogram of body weight) or saline placebo was administered intravenously within 26 hours after birth, as well as at 2, 3, 4, and 7 days of age. The primary outcome was death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 22 to 36 months of age. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined as cerebral palsy, a Gross Motor Function Classification System level of at least 1 (on a scale of 0 [normal] to 5 [most impaired]), or a cognitive score of less than 90 (which corresponds to 0.67 SD below the mean, with higher scores indicating better performance) on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition. Results: Of 500 infants in the modified intention-to-treat analysis, 257 received erythropoietin and 243 received placebo. The incidence of death or neurodevelopmental impairment was 52.5% in the erythropoietin group and 49.5% in the placebo group (relative risk, 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86 to 1.24; P = 0.74). The mean number of serious adverse events per child was higher in the erythropoietin group than in the placebo group (0.86 vs. 0.67; relative risk, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.57). Conclusions: The administration of erythropoietin to newborns undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy did not result in a lower risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment than placebo and was associated with a higher rate of serious adverse events.