Moving from experience to evidence: changes in US Neonatal Resuscitation Program based on International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Review

Abstract

The Neonatal Workgroup of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation recently made available their rigorous review of the scientific evidence base for selected neonatal resuscitation issues. The Neonatal Resuscitation Program guidelines have been recently revised based on that review and published as the Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation, 5th edn. This review article highlights pertinent changes in recommendations, including revisions in: oxygen use; CO(2) detectors for confirmation of intubation; management of the infant born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid; initial ventilation devices and strategies; thermal protection of very small preterm infants; medications, including doses and routes of delivery; postresuscitation therapies for consideration and ethical issues in initiation and discontinuation of resuscitation. Journal of Perinatology (2008) 28, S35-S40; doi:10.1038/jp.2008.48.