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The Incubator

Ben Courchia & Daphna Yasova Barbeau

A weekly discussion about new evidence in neonatal care and the fascinating individuals who make this progress possible. Hosted by Dr. Ben Courchia and Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau.

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S5 · E162
Monday · 55 min
#461 - [🫀 From The Heart] - Blue Baby, Gray Baby: Severe LV Dysfunction Masquerading as PPHN
Send us Fan Mail A term newborn looks fine on mom's chest, then crashes within minutes. By the time transport arrives, there's a pH of 6.9, a lactate over 10, and a baby already intubated and on surfactant. Is this pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, or something else entirely? In this episode of From the Heart, It's Complicated, Dr. Adrianne Bischoff and Dr. Nim Goldshtrom work through a real, complex neonatal cardiac case in real time — the kind of case that keeps neonatologists up at night. They break down how to clinically differentiate PPHN from congenital heart disease with limited data, why epinephrine's response mattered more than the blood pressure number, how therapeutic hypothermia can unmask cardiac dysfunction, and why "blue is always better than gray" when managing a shunt-dependent circulation. Along the way: real literature, real physiology, and the reasoning behind decisions made under pressure, with a surprise diagnosis at the end. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E161
August 21 · 46 min
#460 - Reading as a neuroprotective intervention
Send us Fan Mail Why does reading in the NICU still feel optional when the evidence says otherwise? Daphna sits down with Paige Pedroli, author of the Nic Zoo book and two-time NICU mom, and Dr. Raquel Garcia, a craniofacial and feeding specialist, to unpack why reading to preterm and critically ill infants belongs alongside kangaroo care as neuropromotive, not just neuroprotective. They cover the evidence behind auditory stimulation and language outcomes, why reading gives overwhelmed parents a real role in their baby's care, and how units can build low-cost reading programs with book libraries and student volunteers. A practical, moving conversation for anyone building developmental care into daily NICU practice. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E160
August 17 · 45 min
#459 - Which AI tools are actually ready for the NICU right now?
Send us Fan Mail Is your EMR actually built for neonatology, or just retrofitted to survive it? Ben sits down with Dr. Lindsey Knake, clinical assistant professor and associate chief health information officer at the University of Iowa, to talk AI in the NICU. They cover the real difference between Epic's homegrown tools and third-party options like Evidently and NABLA, why a six-month hospital stay breaks most chart summarization tools, and how ambient AI is starting to change documentation and family counseling. Lindsey also shares practical paths into clinical informatics for clinicians without a coding background. A grounded look at where NICU technology actually stands right now. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E159
August 15 · 2 hr
#458 - 📑 Journal Club - The Complete Episode from August 15th 2026
Send us Fan Mail The full week of Journal Club in one place. Monday, the PLaNT trial of prophylactic CPAP for late preterm infants born by cesarean, with senior author Dr. Edgardo Szyld. Tuesday, whether parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia changes feeding and length of stay. Wednesday, the Connection Study, the first live biotherapeutic product tested under an IND, and what it means for probiotics returning to the NICU. Thursday, a handheld light probe that reads bowel through the skin to catch NEC before the X-ray does. Friday, Dr. Dinushan Kaluarachchi on the respiratory severity score and what its trajectory tells us. ---- First-in-human pilot study of broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS) as noninvasive surveillance for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Dodd AC, Lehane AJ, Lee A, Hurlock A, Su Y, Ilahi I, Lautz TB, Backman V, Goldstein SD.J Pediatr Surg. 2026 May;61(5):162978. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2026.162978. Epub 2026 Feb 3.PMID: 41643767 Association of parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia and NICU outcomes for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Nguyen TT, Glass HC, Chan N, Taketa E, Pineda R, Cornet MC, Miller MJ.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 22. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02753-3. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42332041 Live biotherapeutic product IBP-9414 (L. reuteri) in very low birth weight infants: the Connection Study. Neu J, Del Moral T, Guthrie SO, Hudak ML, Indrio F, Kim JH, Kronström A, Martin CR, Modi N, Rastad J, Schnitzer TJ, Singh R, Strömberg S, Szajewska H, Thuresson M, Caplan M.Pediatr Res. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-026-04826-7. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41721054 Prophylactic CPAP at Cesarean Birth in Late-Preterm Newborns: A Multicenter RCT. Shah BA, DeShea L, Schmölzer GM, Josephsen JB, Fabres J, Wetzel EA, Rykovich H, Thomas A, Law B, Garrido C, Szyld E.Pediatrics. 2026 Aug 1;158(2):e2025070998. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-070998.PMID: 42457181 Clinical Trial. Association Between Delivery Room Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Neonatal Outcomes in Late Preterm and Term Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chin Y, Hill M, Sett A, Thomas N, Razak A.J Paediatr Child Health. 2026 Jul 28. doi: 10.1111/jpc.70516. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42517258 Review. Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definition Based on Respiratory Severity Score. Kaluarachchi DC, Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM.Pediatr Pulmonol. 2026 Jul;61(7):e71750. doi: 10.1002/ppul.71750.PMID: 42478108 Free PMC article. No abstract available. Respiratory severity score patterns by birth gestational age among a cohort of extremely preterm infants. Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM, Keller RL, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02778-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42374145 No abstract available. Respiratory severity score as a predictor for need for tracheostomy in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Kaluarachchi NM, Afah Annah S, Lasarev MR, Peebles PJ, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 25. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02720-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42350618 No abstract available. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E158
August 14 · 26 min
#458 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Can the respiratory severity score show us where a baby is heading?
Send us Fan Mail The respiratory severity score is one multiplication most of us already do in our heads, mean airway pressure times FiO2. This week Dr. Dinushan Kaluarachchi joins Journal Club to walk through three papers built on it, RSS trajectories across gestational age in the PROP cohort, an RSS based grading of BPD at 36 weeks, and RSS after 40 weeks as a predictor of tracheostomy. He also talks about writing that last paper with his son, a high school junior, and why a brief communication is a realistic on-ramp for students. Plus a preview of two upcoming trials, including surfactant given through a supraglottic airway. https://www.nature.com/collections/ejaffajdhi ---- Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definition Based on Respiratory Severity Score. Kaluarachchi DC, Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM.Pediatr Pulmonol. 2026 Jul;61(7):e71750. doi: 10.1002/ppul.71750.PMID: 42478108 Free PMC article. No abstract available. Respiratory severity score patterns by birth gestational age among a cohort of extremely preterm infants. Peebles PJ, Lasarev MR, Guthrie SO, Laughon MM, Keller RL, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 29. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02778-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42374145 No abstract available. Respiratory severity score as a predictor for need for tracheostomy in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Kaluarachchi NM, Afah Annah S, Lasarev MR, Peebles PJ, Kaluarachchi DC.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 25. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02720-y. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42350618 No abstract available. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E157
August 13 · 22 min
#458 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Could a handheld light probe detect NEC before the X-ray does?
Send us Fan Mail NEC still tends to announce itself on an X-ray, usually later than we want. This week Daphna reviews the first-in-human study of broadband optical spectroscopy, a handheld transcutaneous probe out of Lurie Children's that reads reflected light from 350 to 2500 nanometers to look at bowel beneath the skin. Just under 100 preterm infants, more than 11,000 scans, and a machine learning model that separated NEC from non-NEC scans with 100% sensitivity and a 100% negative predictive value, though the positive predictive value sat at 24%. Ben and Daphna work through what the curves actually show and what would have to come next. ---- First-in-human pilot study of broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS) as noninvasive surveillance for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Dodd AC, Lehane AJ, Lee A, Hurlock A, Su Y, Ilahi I, Lautz TB, Backman V, Goldstein SD.J Pediatr Surg. 2026 May;61(5):162978. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2026.162978. Epub 2026 Feb 3.PMID: 41643767 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E156
August 12 · 26 min
#458 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Is this the trial that brings probiotics back to the NICU?
Send us Fan Mail Probiotics left US NICUs after the FDA reclassified them, and NEC rates went up. This week Ben reviews the Connection Study, a 2,158 infant phase 3 trial of IBP-9414, a live biotherapeutic product containing Limosilactobacillus reuteri, run under an IND with the regulatory rigor probiotics never had. Neither primary endpoint reached significance, but all cause mortality fell 27%, and surgically confirmed NEC favored treatment after 14 days of dosing. The discussion may be the real story, including a kappa of 0.36 between radiologists reading the same NEC films. Ben and Daphna talk through what a regulated probiotic would mean for the babies waiting now. ---- Live biotherapeutic product IBP-9414 (L. reuteri) in very low birth weight infants: the Connection Study. Neu J, Del Moral T, Guthrie SO, Hudak ML, Indrio F, Kim JH, Kronström A, Martin CR, Modi N, Rastad J, Schnitzer TJ, Singh R, Strömberg S, Szajewska H, Thuresson M, Caplan M.Pediatr Res. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-026-04826-7. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41721054 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E155
August 11 · 18 min
#458 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Does holding during cooling change NICU outcomes in HIE?
Send us Fan Mail Parents of babies undergoing therapeutic hypothermia often wait days before they can hold their child, and many never get the chance during cooling at all. This week on Journal Club, Daphna reviews a new Journal of Perinatology retrospective cohort from two level IV NICUs, 379 infants with HIE, where 28% were held during cooling. Held infants reached full oral feeds sooner, were more likely to go home on breast milk, and had shorter stays, but they were also less sick to begin with. Ben pushes on confounding, on the exclusion of infants who died, and on what equipment would make holding routine. ---- Association of parental holding during therapeutic hypothermia and NICU outcomes for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Nguyen TT, Glass HC, Chan N, Taketa E, Pineda R, Cornet MC, Miller MJ.J Perinatol. 2026 Jun 22. doi: 10.1038/s41372-026-02753-3. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42332041 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
- Transcript
S5 · E154
August 10 · 36 min
#458 - [Journal Club] - 📌 Should late preterm infants born by cesarean receive prophylactic CPAP?
Send us Fan Mail Late preterm babies born by cesarean fill our NICUs, and most of them are there for respiratory distress that resolves in a day or two. Could 20 minutes of CPAP in the operating room keep them out? This week on Journal Club, Ben and Daphna break down the PLaNT trial, a five center randomized pilot of prophylactic CPAP at 5 to 6 cm of water in spontaneously breathing infants born at 34 to 36 weeks by cesarean. They then sit down with senior author Dr. Edgardo Szyld to talk pneumothorax risk, the 35 to 36 week subgroup, consenting families, and what PLaNT 2 must prove. ---- Prophylactic CPAP at Cesarean Birth in Late-Preterm Newborns: A Multicenter RCT. Shah BA, DeShea L, Schmölzer GM, Josephsen JB, Fabres J, Wetzel EA, Rykovich H, Thomas A, Law B, Garrido C, Szyld E.Pediatrics. 2026 Aug 1;158(2):e2025070998. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-070998.PMID: 42457181 Clinical Trial. Association Between Delivery Room Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Neonatal Outcomes in Late Preterm and Term Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chin Y, Hill M, Sett A, Thomas N, Razak A.J Paediatr Child Health. 2026 Jul 28. doi: 10.1111/jpc.70516. Online ahead of print.PMID: 42517258 Review. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E153
August 3 · 34 min
#457 - Are We Rethinking When and How We Give Surfactant (ft Dr. Roger Soll)
Send us Fan Mail When is surfactant "early," and when is it too early, or too late? In this second installment of our two-part series with the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, Ben Courchia sits down with Dr. Roger Soll, a leading voice in surfactant research since the 1980s, to trace how our thinking on timing has evolved, from aggressive prophylactic dosing to selective rescue therapy to today's less invasive approaches like LISA and SALSA. Dr. Soll unpacks why head-to-head trials keep favoring less invasive administration over InSurE, and how the rise of "nanopreemies" is quietly pulling the pendulum back toward earlier treatment. The conversation also touches on video laryngoscopy and aerosolized surfactant's unfulfilled promise. A candid, technically rich conversation for anyone who has stood at a warmer wondering whether, and when, to reach for surfactant. Dr. Soll expands on these themes at the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, September 10 to 11, 2026, at Indiana University School of Medicine. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E152
August 1 · 1 hr 13 min
#456 - 📑 Journal Club - The Complete Episode from August 1st 2026
Send us Fan Mail Which babies with critical congenital heart disease face the highest risk of brain injury, and does earlier surgery actually help? Why is infant CHD mortality climbing again after years of decline, and who's most affected? Can a mother's cardiovascular status in preeclampsia predict her newborn's circulatory transition? This week's Journal Club brings together five conversations on CHD, maternal-fetal physiology, and vaccine policy. Nim and Adrianne cover a meta-analysis on brain injury in critical CHD, a 25-year national mortality study, a pilot study on preeclampsia and neonatal cardiac output, and a look at RV diastolic function after CHD intervention. Ben and Eli close with Neo News on a controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E151
July 31 · 21 min
#456 - [Neo News] - 📌 Why Did the US Fund a Hepatitis B Trial That Withheld the Birth Dose?
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Neo News, Ben and Eli break down a troubling story in vaccine policy: an unsolicited $1.6 million CDC grant funding a Danish research group's trial in Guinea-Bissau, one designed to withhold or delay the hepatitis B birth dose from thousands of newborns in a country where the disease is highly endemic. They trace the ethical parallels to Tuskegee, the funding irregularities, and the pushback from the Africa CDC that halted the study. They also cover the clinical stakes clinicians face daily, including age-dependent chronicity and the real risks of a "safe" two-month delay. A candid, unfiltered conversation about advocating for evidence-based care when the evidence itself becomes politicized. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E150
July 30 · 14 min
#456 - [Journal Club] - 🫀 From The Heart - Do These Newborns Have Diastolic Dysfunction, or Just Different Physiology?
Send us Fan Mail In this prospective study, Adrianne and Nim dig into an area with almost no normative pediatric data: right ventricular diastolic function. Comparing 57 infants with RV pressure overload after intervention for pulmonic stenosis or tetralogy of Fallot to 134 healthy controls, the authors found a consistent pattern, reduced beat-to-beat variability, a higher atrial contribution to filling, and an E/A ratio inversion that was nearly universal in the CHD group versus about half of controls. It's one of the first real attempts to define what a right-sided diastolic pattern actually looks like in this population. But without a comparison against cardiac catheterization, the hosts agree the findings are hypothesis-generating at best, a starting point for a multi-parametric approach, not a reason to skip an invasive workup. ---- Echocardiographic Markers of Right Ventricle Diastolic Dysfunction in Neonates and Infants with Congenital Heart Disease. Cantinotti M, Capponi G, Scalese M, Palladino E, Giordano R, Franchi E, Viacava C, Corana G, Marchese P, Pizzuto A, Assanta N, Santoro G. J Clin Med. 2025 Dec 23;15(1):98. doi: 10.3390/jcm15010098. PMID: 41517351 Free PMC article. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E149
July 29 · 14 min
#456 - [Journal Club] - 🫀 From The Heart - Why Does a Sicker Mom Sometimes Mean a Stronger Neonatal Heart?
Send us Fan Mail In this small prospective pilot study, Adrianne and Nim explore a domain rarely discussed on rounds, how a mother's cardiovascular function in preeclampsia shapes her newborn's circulatory transition. Using maternal echo and neonatal electrical cardiometry across 13 mother-baby dyads, the authors found an inverse relationship: the worse the mother's cardiac function, the higher the neonate's cardiac output, though vascular tone barely budged. It's a compelling hypothesis about placental strain and fetal adaptation. But Nim pushes back hard on the methodology, pairing this paper with a companion study showing electrical cardiometry consistently overestimates cardiac output in neonates, and questioning why daily echoes were performed on these babies but the results never reported. ---- Linking maternal and neonatal circulation in preeclampsia. Piani F, Annesi L, Degli Esposti D, Vincenzi S, De Crescenzo S, Della Gatta AN, Simonazzi G, Corvaglia L, Martini S.Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2026 Mar 1;330(3):H708-H716. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00945.2025. Epub 2026 Jan 12.PMID: 41525138 Free article. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E148
July 28 · 12 min
#456 - [Journal Club] - 🫀 From The Heart - Why Is CHD Mortality Rising Again After 15 Years of Progress?
Send us Fan Mail In this retrospective national study, Adrianne and Nim look at 25 years of congenital heart disease mortality in the US using CDC WONDER data. Infant mortality remains staggeringly high (54 per 100,000), and after years of steady decline, it has been climbing again since 2014. Disparities run throughout: higher deaths among males, non-Hispanic Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and in rural, Midwestern regions, pointing more to gaps in access and resources than to disease biology. The conversation also flags a growing, under-discussed problem, an aging adult congenital population outpacing the pediatric one for the first time, with too few specialists trained to care for them. ---- National Trends and Disparities in Congenital Heart Disease Mortality in the United States, 1999-2024.Raja S, Albrahim MMS, Aldhafeeri BF, Omar AA, Alqadeeb BA, Alhuways MM, Bangaryd AA, Alqahtany MG, Alfaraj AB, Almughyir RS, AlRasheed ST, Alfaifi M. Pediatr Cardiol. 2026 Jan 13. doi: 10.1007/s00246-025-04156-1. Online ahead of print.PMID: 41528440 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E147
July 27 · 20 min
#456 - [Journal Club] - 🫀 From The Heart - Should an Abnormal Brain MRI Change the Decision to Operate in Critical CHD?
Send us Fan Mail In this systematic review and meta-analysis, Nim and Adrianne dig into just how common brain injury really is in neonates with critical congenital heart disease. Pooling 31 studies spanning two decades, the authors found that nearly 70% of these babies show some form of ischemic brain injury, split roughly between pre-operative and post-operative timing. Counter to what most clinicians would predict, kids who went to surgery earlier (days 4-6) had higher rates of white matter injury than those who waited longer. MRI remained the most sensitive tool for picking up these lesions, well ahead of ultrasound or CT. But the data stops well short of proving these findings predict long-term outcomes, and Nim pushes back on the idea that an abnormal scan alone should steer decisions about whether to operate. ---- Prevalence of Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Kim C, Chetan D, Kazazian V, Alzamil J, Chau V, Seed M, Miller SP, Selvanathan T.Neurology. 2026 Feb 10;106(3):e214569. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000214569. Epub 2026 Jan 9.PMID: 41512205 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E146
July 24 · 39 min
#455 - [Neo News] - Is Communication a Procedural Skill We're Failing to Train?
Send us Fan Mail What if communication were treated as a procedure, something we train for and get feedback on, just like an intubation? In this episode of Neo News, Eli Cahan talks with Dr. Jessica Fry of Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital about her NeoReviews piece, "Recognizing Communication as a Procedural Skill in Neonatology." Dr. Fry shares the personal loss that shaped her career, the ethical stakes of getting family communication right, and how trauma-informed care can guide something as simple as how we address parents on rounds. They discuss the critical first 48 hours after admission and how simulation-based training can build real skill over time. A candid look at a skill every NICU provider uses daily, and how we can all get better at it. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E145
July 20 · 32 min
#454 - PEEP, Tidal Volume, and Physiology, How Far Has Resuscitation Science Traveled? (ft Dr. Charles Roehr)
Send us Fan Mail How far has delivery room ventilation really come? In this special episode, recorded in collaboration with the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, Ben sits down with Dr. Charles Roehr, professor of neonatology and perinatal medicine at the University of Bristol, clinical trialist at the University of Oxford, and member of ILCOR. Together they trace the evolution of respiratory support at birth, from the era of fixed inflation breaths to today's focus on physiologic stability and gentle cardiopulmonary transition. Dr. Roehr reflects on a quarter century of resuscitation science, the enduring challenge of human factors in the delivery room, and where the field may be heading, from better intrapartum monitoring to increasingly specialized resuscitation teams. Dr. Roehr will be delivering a keynote, "Optimizing Effective Ventilation Strategies in the Delivery Room," at the Neonatal Resuscitation Symposium, taking place September 10 to 11 at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Learn more and register here: https://medicine.iu.edu/pediatrics/specialties/neonatal-perinatal/education/resuscitation-symposium Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E144
July 18 · 1 hr 43 min
#453 - 📑 Journal Club - The Complete Episode from July 18th 2026
Send us Fan Mail Which PDAs actually need treatment? Can maternal voice and scent shape language outcomes? Should we cool at 35 weeks? And did stepping away from probiotics come at a cost? This week’s Journal Club takes on five papers that push back on standard practice. Ben reviews the SMART-PDA trial and a comparative study of PDA pharmacotherapy, Daphna covers the MIND trial on multisensory maternal interventions and a Pediatrix database study on NEC after the FDA probiotic warning, and Ben rounds out the main segment with a national look at hypothermia in 35-week infants with HIE. Ben and Eli wrap the week with Neo News on rising vitamin K refusal. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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S5 · E143
July 17 · 17 min
#453 - [Neo News] - 📌 Are You Still Assuming Every Newborn Got Vitamin K?
Send us Fan Mail Vitamin K refusal has crossed 5%. That's one in twenty babies, and the curve is bending the wrong way. Ben and Eli work through a new Pediatrics case review that opens with a warning shot, that hemorrhagic presentation in an infant should no longer be a diagnostic mystery, alongside a JAMA letter tracking refusal from 2.9% in 2017 to 5.2% in 2024. Eighty-one times the risk. Intracranial hemorrhage in most late-onset cases. Twenty percent mortality. They talk about the halo effect on other refusals, the ICD code you should be using, and why this conversation belongs in the obstetrics office, not the nursery. ---- Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding After Refusal: A Sentinel Event in a Misinformation Era. Jacobs JW, Booth GS, Wheeler AP, Adkins BD.Pediatrics. 2026 May 1;157(5):e2026075994. doi: 10.1542/peds.2026-075994.PMID: 41916583 No abstract available. Trends in Vitamin K Administration Among Infants. Scott K, Miller E, Culhane JF, Greenspan J, Handley SC, Lo JY, Knake LA, McKenney KM, Burris HH, Dysart K.JAMA. 2026 Jan 20;335(3):272-274. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.21460.PMID: 41359326 Free PMC article. Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth https://www.propublica.org/article/more-parents-decline-vitamin-k-shot-newborns Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below. Enjoy!
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