Publications
10 results found
Pant S, 2022, Ethical issues around death and withdrawal of life support in neonatal intensive care, Indian Journal of Pediatrics, Vol: 89, Pages: 274-278, ISSN: 0019-5456
Amongst all the traumatic experiences in a human life, death of child is considered the most painful, and has profound and lasting impact on the life of parents. The experience is even more complex when the death occurs within a neonatal intensive care unit, particularly in situations where there have been conflicts associated with decisions regarding the redirection of life-sustaining treatments. In the absence of national guidelines and legal backing, clinicians are faced with a dilemma of whether to prolong life-sustaining therapy even in the most brain-injured infants or allow a discharge against medical advice. Societal customs, vagaries, and lack of bereavement support further complicate the experience for parents belonging to lower socio-economic classes. The present review explores the ethical dilemmas around neonatal death faced by professionals in India, and suggests some ways forward.
Burgod C, Pant S, Morales MM, et al., 2021, Effect of intra-partum Oxytocin on neonatal encephalopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Vol: 21, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 1471-2393
BackgroundOxytocin is widely used for induction and augmentation of labour, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined the effect of intra-partum Oxytocin use on neonatal encephalopathy.MethodsThe protocol for this study was registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020165049). We searched Medline, Embase and Web of Science Core Collection databases for papers published between January 1970 and May 2021. We considered all studies involving term and near-term (≥36 weeks’ gestation) primigravidae and multiparous women. We included all randomised, quasi-randomised clinical trials, retrospective studies and non-randomised prospective studies reporting intra-partum Oxytocin administration for induction and/or augmentation of labour. Our primary outcome was neonatal encephalopathy. Risk of bias was assessed in non-randomised studies using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool. The RoB 2.0 tool was used for randomised studies. A Mantel-Haenszel statistical method and random effects analysis model were used for meta-analysis. Odds ratios were used to determine effect measure and reported with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsWe included data from seven studies (6 Case-control studies, 1 cluster-randomised trial) of which 3 took place in high-income countries (HICs) and 4 in LMICs. The pooled data included a total of 24,208 women giving birth at or after 36 weeks; 7642 had intra-partum Oxytocin for induction and/or augmentation of labour, and 16,566 did not receive intra-partum Oxytocin. Oxytocin use was associated with an increased prevalence of neonatal encephalopathy (Odds Ratio 2.19, 95% CI 1.58 to 3.04; p < 0.00001).ConclusionsIntra-partum Oxytocin may increase the risk of neonatal encephalopathy. Future clinical trials of uterotonics should include neonatal encephalopathy as a key outcome.
Moreno Morales M, Montaldo P, Ivain P, et al., 2021, Association of Total Sarnat Score with brain injury and neurodevelopmental outcomes after neonatal encephalopathy, Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition, Vol: 106, Pages: 669-672, ISSN: 1359-2998
We examined the association of Total Sarnat Score (TSS) with brain injury on neonatal magnetic resonance (MR) and adverse neurodevelopmental outcome (NDO) (death or moderate or severe disability) at 2 years of age in 145 infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for neonatal encephalopathy. TSS was associated with basal ganglia/thalamic injury on conventional MR (p=0.03) and thalamic N-acetyl aspartate on MR spectroscopy (R2=0.16, p=0.004) at 2 weeks of age, and Bayley Composite Cognitive (R2=0.18, p=0.01), Motor (R2=0.15, p=0.02) and Language (R2=0.11, p=0.01) Scores at 2 years of age after adjustment for seizures at the time of neurological assessment. The accuracy of TSS (area under the curve (AUC)=0.71) for predicting adverse NDO was similar to the modified Sarnat staging (AUC=0.72). TSS of >12 within 6 hours of birth indicated high risk of adverse NDO, while TSS of <4 indicated intact survival and was reassuring of a good outcome among cooled infants.
Pant S, Elias MA, Woolfall K, et al., 2021, OP23 Parental consent for time-critical neonatal trials in low and middle-income countries: is it truly informed? FREE, SSM Annual Scientific Meeting, Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group, Pages: A11-A11, ISSN: 0143-005X
Background Parental consent rates for neonatal interventional trials are significantly higher in Low and middle-income countries (LMIC) than in high-income countries, raising concerns about the credibility of the consent processes (Patterson et al PLOS One 2021). We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand the informed consent process in a neonatal cooling trial [Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low and middle-income countries (HELIX) trial] conducted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Methods Term infants with neonatal encephalopathy, aged less than six hours were randomly allocated to cooling therapy or usual care, following informed parental consent. The consenting process was audio-video (A-V) recorded in all cases. We analysed the A-V records of the consent process using a 5-point Likert scale on three parameters – Empathy, Information, Autonomy. Additionally, we used exploratory observation method to capture relevant aspects of consent process and discussions between parents and professionals. Finally, we conducted in-depth interviews with a subgroup of 20 parents and 15 health care professionals. A thematic analysis was performed on the observations of A-V records and on the interview transcripts.Results In HELIX trial, a total of 475 parents were approached, of which 408 (86%) consented. Of these, 294 A-V records were analysed. Median (Interquartile range) score for empathy, information, autonomy was 5 (0), 5 (1) and 5 (1) respectively. However, thematic analysis suggested that the parental decision to participate was based on a unreserved trust in the treating doctors, therapeutic misconception, and access to an expensive treatment free of cost. Most parents did not understand the concept of a clinical trial, nor the nature of the intervention. Lower levels of parental education and misinformation further convoluted the voluntary informed consent process. Parents were visibly incapacitated, and many told the doctor to do whatever is best for the
Thayyil S, Pant S, Montaldo P, et al., 2021, Hypothermia for moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy in low and middle-income countries (HELIX): a randomised control trial in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, The Lancet Global Health, Vol: 9, Pages: e1273-e1285, ISSN: 2214-109X
Background: Although therapeutic hypothermia reduces death or disability after neonatal encephalopathy in high-income countries, its safety and efficacy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains unclear. We examined if therapeutic hypothermia alongside optimal supportive intensive care reduces death or disability after neonatal encephalopathy in South Asia. Methods: We conducted a multi-country open label randomised controlled trial involving seven tertiary neonatal intensive care units in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, between August 2015 and September 2020. We allocated infants born at or after 36 weeks of gestation with moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy into whole body hypothermia (33·5 0 C) for 72 hours using a servo-controlled cooling device, or usual care (control group), within six hours of birth. All recruiting sites had facilities for invasive ventilation, cardiovascular support and access to 3 Telsa magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. The primary outcome was a combined end point of death or moderate or severe disability at 18 to 22 months of age, assessed by Bayley scales of infant development (Version III).Findings: Of 576 eligible infants, we assigned 202 to hypothermia and 206 to control group. Primary outcome data were available for 394 (96·5%) infants, and occurred in 98(50·3%) of the hypothermia and 94 (47·2%) of the control group (Risk Ratio (RR) 1·06;95% confidence intervals (CI) 0·87 to 1·30 (p = 0·55). Eighty-four infants (42·4%) in the hypothermia group and 63 (31·3%) (p = 0·02) infants in the control group died, of whom 72 (35·6%) and 49 (23·8%) (p = 0·009) died during neonatal hospitalisation. Interpretation: Therapeutic hypothermia did not reduce the combined outcome of death or disability at18 months after neonatal encephalopathy in LMICs, but significantly increased mortality. Therapeutic hypothermia should not
Pant S, 2021, Parental and professional perceptions of informed consent and participation in a time-critical neonatal trial in Low and Middle-income countries: A mixed methods study, BMJ Global Health, Vol: 6, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 2059-7908
Introduction Time-critical neonatal trials in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) raise several ethical issues. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, we explored informed consent process in Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low and middle-income countries (HELIX) trial conducted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Methods Term infants with neonatal encephalopathy, aged less than 6 hours, were randomly allocated to cooling therapy or usual care, following informed parental consent. The consenting process was audio-video (A-V) recorded in all cases. We analysed A-V records of the consent process using a 5-point Likert scale on three parameters—empathy, information and autonomy. In addition, we used exploratory observation method to capture relevant aspects of consent process and discussions between parents and professionals. Finally, we conducted in-depth interviews with a subgroup of 20 parents and 15 healthcare professionals. A thematic analysis was performed on the observations of A-V records and on the interview transcripts.Results A total of 294 A-V records of the HELIX trial were analysed. Median (IQR) score for empathy, information and autonomy was 5 (0), 5 (1) and 5 (1), respectively. However, thematic analysis suggested that the consenting was a ceremonial process; and parental decision to participate was based on unreserved trust in the treating doctors, therapeutic misconception and access to an expensive treatment free of cost. Most parents did not understand the concept of a clinical trial nor the nature of the intervention. Professionals showed a strong bias towards cooling therapy and reported time constraints and explaining to multiple family members as key challenges.Conclusion Despite rigorous research governance and consent process, parental decisions were heavily influenced by situational incapacity and a trust in doctors to make the right decision on their behalf. Further research is required to identify culturally and
Patterson JK, Pant S, Jones DF, et al., 2021, Informed consent rates for neonatal randomized controlled trials in low- and lower middle-income versus high-income countries: a systematic review, PLoS One, Vol: 16, Pages: 1-14, ISSN: 1932-6203
Objective: Legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements of medical research uniformly call for informed consent. We aimed to characterize and compare consent rates for neonatal randomized controlled trials in low- and lower middle-income countries versus high-income countries, and to evaluate the influence of study characteristics on consent rates.Methods: In this systematic review, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane for randomized controlled trials of neonatal interventions in low- and lower middle-income countries or high-income countries published 01/01/2013 to 01/04/2018. Our primary outcome was consent rate, the proportion of eligible participants who consented amongst those approached, extracted from the article or email with the author. Using a generalised linear model for fractional dependent variables, we analysed the odds of consenting in low- and lower middle-income countries versus high-income countries across control types and interventions.Findings: We screened 3523 articles, yielding 300 eligible randomized controlled trials with consent rates available for 135 low- and lower middle-income country trials and 65 high-income country trials. Median consent rates were higher for low- and lower middle-income countries (95.6%; interquartile range (IQR) 88.2–98.9) than high-income countries (82.7%; IQR 68.6–93.0; p<0.001). In adjusted regression analysis comparing low- and lower middle-income countries to high-income countries, the odds of consent for no placebo-drug/nutrition trials was 3.67 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.87–7.19; p = 0.0002) and 6.40 (95%CI 3.32–12.34; p<0.0001) for placebo-drug/nutrition trials.Conclusion: Neonatal randomized controlled trials in low- and lower middle-income countries report consistently higher consent rates compared to high-income country trials. Our study is limited by the overrepresentation of India among randomized controlled trials in low- and lower middle-income countries. This st
Montaldo P, Cunnington A, Oliveira V, et al., 2020, Transcriptomic profile of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes after neonatal encephalopathy, Scientific Reports, Vol: 10, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 2045-2322
A rapid and early diagnostic test to identify the encephalopathic babies at risk of adverse outcome may accelerate the development of neuroprotectants. We examined if a whole blood transcriptomic signature measured soon after birth,predicts adverse neurodevelopmental outcomeeighteenmonths after neonatal encephalopathy.We performed next generation sequencing on whole blood ribonucleic acid obtained within sixhours of birth from the first 47encephalopathic babies recruited to the Hypothermia for Encephalopathy in Low and middle-income countries (HELIX)trial. Two infants with blood culture positive sepsis were excluded, and the data from remaining 45 were analysed. A total of 855genes were significantly differentially expressed between the good and adverse outcome groups, of which RGS1and SMC4 werethe most significant. Biological pathway analysis adjusted for gender, trial randomisation allocation (cooling therapy versus usual care) and estimated blood leukocyte proportions revealed over-representation of genes from pathways related to melatoninand polo-like kinase in babieswith adverse outcome. These preliminary data suggest that transcriptomic profiling may be a promising tool for rapid risk stratification in neonatal encephalopathy. It may provide insights into biological mechanismsand identify novel therapeutic targetsfor neuroprotection.
Montaldo P, Ivain P, Lally P, et al., 2020, White matter injury after neonatal encephalopathy is associated with thalamic metabolite perturbations, EBioMedicine, Vol: 52, ISSN: 2352-3964
BackgroundAlthough thalamic magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy (MRS) accurately predicts adverse outcomes after neonatal encephalopathy, its utility in infants without MR visible deep brain nuclei injury is not known. We examined thalamic MRS metabolite perturbations in encephalopathic infants with white matter (WM) injury with or without cortical injury and its associations with adverse outcomes.MethodsWe performed a subgroup analysis of all infants recruited to the MARBLE study with isolated WM or mixed WM/cortical injury, but no visible injury to the basal ganglia/thalamus (BGT) or posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC). We used binary logistic regression to examine the association of MRS biomarkers with three outcomes (i) WM injury score (1 vs. 2/3); (ii) cortical injury scores (0/1 vs. 2/3); and (iii) adverse outcomes (defined as death, moderate/severe disability) at two years (yes/no). We also assessed the accuracy of MRS for predicting adverse outcome.FindingsOf the 107 infants included in the analysis, five had adverse outcome. Reduced thalamic N-acetylaspartate concentration [NAA] (odds ratio 0.4 (95% CI 0.18–0.93)) and elevated thalamic Lactate/NAA peak area ratio (odds ratio 3.37 (95% CI 1.45–7.82)) were significantly associated with higher WM injury scores, but not with cortical injury. Thalamic [NAA] (≤5.6 mmol/kg/wet weight) had the best accuracy for predicting adverse outcomes (sensitivity 1.00 (95% CI 0.16–1.00); specificity 0.95 (95% CI 0.84–0.99)).InterpretationThalamic NAA is reduced in encephalopathic infants without MR visible deep brain nuclei injury and may be a useful predictor of adverse outcomes.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Pant S, Eder B, Vračar A, et al., 2019, WHO’s global action plan to promote the health of refugees and migrants, BMJ, Vol: 366, Pages: 1-2, ISSN: 0959-8138
This data is extracted from the Web of Science and reproduced under a licence from Thomson Reuters. You may not copy or re-distribute this data in whole or in part without the written consent of the Science business of Thomson Reuters.