To say this has been a labour of love is an understatement. So many people have contributed to the new position statement for the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS).

The screening and management of newborns at risk for low blood glucose

My co-author Dr. Seth Marks from Pediatric Endocrinology spent countless hours reviewing the evidence and fielding seemingly endless questions from reviewers and myself. The support from the CPS was also much appreciated as the back and forth from so many who expressed opinions would have been difficult to manage without their support. What I hope you will find as you read this is the best appraisal of the evidence and directions for care that we could come to in 2019. Where things will stand by the time we make it to the next revision will be interesting to see.

Big Accomplishment

For those who have used the Acute Care of At Risk Newborns (ACORN) program you will be pleased to know that the upcoming new version of this program is completely alligned with the approach outlined in the CPS statement. Given that the first version of ACORN and the CPS were not aligned and caused great discussion and distress at times, we feel this is a big accomplishment.

The algorithm for managing hypoglycemia is clean and easy to follow (I think) and we hope such clarity will greatly help with managing those infants at risk.

Main Questions for the Future

We remain a country divided (much like the recent election) with respect to dextrose gels usage. There are centres which are leary of using adult formulations of dextrose gel in newborns whereas others have adopted such treatments with success. The algorithm and statement address the approach to using dextrose gels or what to do if one wishes to avoid such use. With time, local products or a national brand designed specifically for newborn use may come to be and this will need to be addressed at some point.

Changing the threshold at 72 hours and beyond to require glucose levels of greater than or equal to 3.3 mmol/L may lead some to be worried about a ramp up in admissions but at least locally we have not seen this. In the end those with persistent causes of hypoglycemia will manifest one way or the other and whether it is before or after discharge from the hospital may be a reflection of what threshold you feel comfortable using.

Will local guidelines be affected by adopting the changes outlined in this statement? I suspect so and would welcome feedback before the next version of this document is worked on to determine what if any ramifications (positve or negative) such approaches have had.

No doubt with many changes compared to the previous version of the statement there may be some surprises. Keep an open mind and look at the evidence presented. In other cases the lack of evidence has motivated a change in position. Either way we believe this is the best approach to care for at risk newborns given what we know today.

Good reading everyone!