Abstract
For newborn infants in intensive care units, the morbidity and mortality from infection continues to be a major burden despite advances in neonatal care. Infants are at risk for early-onset, late-onset as well as hospital-acquired infections. Research studies are needed to optimize timely diagnosis and treatment, and develop patient-specific and system-wide strategies to prevent perinatal and neonatal infections. To address the knowledge gaps that preclude optimal, evidence-based care in this critical field, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) organized a workshop in August 2008. In this paper, we provide a summary of the discussions, focusing on major knowledge gaps, and prioritized suggestions for research in this area.
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Acknowledgements
The following are the invited speakers: William W Andrews, PhD, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Carol J Baker, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; Daniel K Benjamin, MD, MPH, PhD, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Reese H Clark, MD, Pediatrix Medical Group Center for Research & Education, Sunrise, FL; William H Edwards, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH; Rosemary D Higgins, MD, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD; Jeanne A Jordan, MD, Magee Womens Research Institute, Pittsburg, PA; Joyce M Koenig, M.D., St Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO; Stephen L Leib MD, Infectious Diseases Institute for Infectious Diseases University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Fernanda Lessa, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; J Randall Moorman, MD, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA; Srinivasa R Nagalla, MD, ProteoGenix Inc., Beaverton, OR; Josef Neu, MD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Karen M. Puopolo, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; Tonse NK Raju, MD, DCH, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD; Lisa Saiman, MD, MPH, Columbia University, New York, New York; Michael P Sherman, MD, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL; Ann R Stark, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; Barbara J Stoll, MD, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
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Dr Raju and myself are employees of the Federal Government. Dr Baker's travel to the meeting was covered by NICHD. We have no other conflicts to report.
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Higgins, R., Baker, C. & Raju, T. Executive summary of the workshop on infection in the high-risk infant. J Perinatol 30, 379–383 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2009.199
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2009.199