Intensive Neonatal Medicine and Congenital Infections

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Diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in critical neonates

The Research Group in Intensive Neonatal Medicine and Congenital Infections focuses its scientific activities on newborn babies. Coordinated by Professors Humberto Holmer Fiori and Renato Machado Fiori, the team includes faculty in Neonatology at PUCRS and students of the Graduate Program in Pediatrics and Children’s Health.

The studies are concentrated in two research areas: Respiratory diseases of the newborn and Congenital infections. In the respiratory field, professors Humberto and Renato Fiori conduct research that will lead to the development of reliable, rapid, and low-cost methods to evaluate the pulmonary maturity of patients, seeking to reduce one of the major causes of neonatal death. Statistics show that at least 10% of premature babies and 40% of newborn babies weighing up to 1,500 g have immature lungs.

One of the studies performed at the Neonatal ICU at the São Lucas Hospital (HSL) of PUCRS is a test of stable microbubbles and lamellar body counts in several organic fluids for use in newborns. These tests have been progressively accepted by the international community as a good option for managing the illness known as Respiratory Distress Syndrome of the Newborn or Hyaline Membrane Disease in premature babies.

Another area covered by the group is that of therapeutic tests on severe respiratory failure, using newborn pigs as a model. Experimentally, the group has demonstrated that bronchoalveolar lavage followed by the use of an exogenous surfactant is effective in treating meconium aspiration syndrome, a disease responsible for two deaths a day in Brazil alone. In addition, the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic interventions in newborn babies is evaluated.

In the research area of congenital infections, coordinated by Professor Eleonor Gastal Lago, important epidemiological studies in toxoplasmosis and syphilis have been performed, some in cooperation with international organizations, which has made PUCRS a leader in the study of these infectious diseases.