Welcome to the new and improved All Things Neonatal! We have graduated to our own domain name and I think you will appreciate the enhancements on this blog.
June 2020 – My Facebook page has moved! If you were a follower of the old site please click the link to find the new one and contribute to the discussion! Facebook as an accompaniment serves as a better means of expanding dialogue on a variety of topics and posts
I am a Neonatologist trained in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta. My current position is Section Head of Neonatology in Manitoba and over my career my interests have meandered from time to time. I have been a past Program Director of Neonatology and Medical Director for a level II Intensive Care Unit prior to relocating to Winnipeg become a Section Head. My current positions also include Co-Director of the Neonatal Telehealth program and assistant Medical Director for the Child Health Transport Program.
We live in the era of social media and that means that the days of turning to Medline and other medical search engines for all the latest information are behind us.
Starting in January 2020 I have added a Parents Corner section which can be found in the menu at the top of the page. The goal of this new section is to help parents understand in plain language the journey of their baby through the NICU.
We live in a global village so to speak and in that spirit I welcome you to my blog which I hope will provide a forum for discussion on topics that are of interest to Neonatologists, trainees, all health care professionals and in some cases parents of those we care for. My intent is to post opinions and analysis on both items from the media and literature that pertain to neonates. While I have many interests, my particular motivation is to find ways to reduce discomfort for the patients that we care for. Whether it is through the use of non-invasive testing or finding a way to improve the patient experience this is where I find myself most energized.
If you like what you see and would like updates to be sent to you as they are published feel free to follow the site by clicking the follow button on the sidebar to the bottom right. You can also follow both my Twitter (@NICU_Musings) and Facebook feeds for additional content and discussion by clicking the additional links found there.
Medical videos can be found on the accompanying YouTube channel. Subscribing to the channel will give you access to new videos as they come up.
Please “share” and “like” to help expand the circle of knowledge. You never know who might be out there with a tidbit of information that might change your practice for the better!
How safe are t-piece resuscitators anyway in our smallest patients?
Here in Winnipeg we don't use t-piece resuscitators for any resuscitation. I did use them in my past position in Edmonton and I came to appreciate them for their ease of use. For the majority of infants, setting a PIP and a PEEP and then using your finger to occlude...
Late administration of surfactant linked to better survival than in 1st 2 hours. Really!?
If there is a country that leads this site in terms of mentions it has to be Sweden. This isn't just because I happen to know some Neonatologists from there who are fine people but because of the fantastic research that spills forth from their national registry of...
Can a couple puffs of albuterol help preemies on mechanical ventilation?
Giving bronchodilators to preemies on a ventilator has certainly been tried before. The major issue to contend with is getting the drug to where it is supposed to be. Anyone reading who has a child with asthma knows that you should use an aerochamber when taking a...
Is foot reflexology coming to an NICU near you?
Every now and then something unconventional comes to my attention. Management of pain is something that I have written about before and have been a proponent of things such as kangaroo care and breastfeeding to help improve responses to pain from common procedures...
Prophylactic vs therapeutic treatment with caffeine. Which one wins out?
If you work in Neonatology you talk about caffeine endlessly whether addressing your own consumption or that of your patients. Our unit like many others typically starts caffeine early in a prophylactic fashion for babies under 32 weeks. The reason for this is due to...
Not routinely intubating non-vigorous infants born through meconium might just be a good thing after all.
I recall the shock waves through the neonatal community when ILCOR changed its recommendation to stop routine intubation of non-vigorous infants born through meconium. The rationale again was that for most practitioners it would be better to give bag valve mask...