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The highest incidence of sepsis across all age groups occurs in neonates leading to substantial mortality and morbidity. Cardiovascular dysfunction frequently complicates neonatal sepsis including biventricular systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction, vasoregulatory failure, and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The structure and function of infant skin is not fully developed until 34 weeks of gestation, and this immaturity is associated with risk of late-onset sepsis (LOS). Topical coconut oil improves preterm-infant skin integrity and may reduce LOS. However, data on early-life skin-microbiome succession and potential effects of emollient skin care in preterm infants are scarce.
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a biphasic vaso-proliferative disease that has the potential to cause blindness. In addition to prematurity and hyperoxia, perinatal infection and inflammation have been reported to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of ROP. The aim of this study was to assess the association between placental inflammation and the severity of ROP.
Impaired oxygen delivery or blood flow to the brain around the time of birth can cause injury. Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy is a leading cause of death and disability in term and near-term infants.
Appropriate use of antibiotics is life-saving in neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS), but overuse of antibiotics is associated with antimicrobial resistance and long-term adverse outcomes.
Tick-borne diseases are a growing global health concern. Despite extensive studies, ill-defined tick-associated pathologies remain with unknown aetiologies. Human immunological responses after tick bite, and inter-individual variations of immune-response phenotypes, are not well characterised.
Preterm babies have a heightened risk of infection as their immune system is not mature. The Neonatal Health Team is exploring new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat infections in WA's smallest patients .
Polymicrobial sepsis is associated with worse patient outcomes than monomicrobial sepsis. Routinely used culture-dependent microbiological diagnostic techniques have low sensitivity, often leading to missed identification of all causative organisms.
Rotifers are used as the first feed for marine fish larvae and are grown in large cultures that have high loads of organic matter and heterotrophic bacteria; these bacteria are passed on to the developing fish larvae and can potentially lead to bacterial infections.
The abundant skin commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis, is the leading cause of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm infants but rarely causes infections in term infants and adults. Staphylococcal virulence mechanisms and the role of the preterm immune responses in driving these life-threatening infections remain poorly understood.