The neonatal examination is one of those medical examinations that will have you stumped if you don't do it routinely. As a medical student I would hate having to practice it, primarily because I didn't have that much experience with neonates. Working in a NICU, I now do a neonatal examination at least 20 times … Continue reading Neonatal examination
As an intern you deal with so many blood transfusions, you become a borderline vampire. In surgery it's the never ending trauma, in obgyn its' all the post-partum haemorrhage whilst in paediatrics it's all the thalassaemia patients. (In medicine it's basically everyone!) If you are super unlucky, you'll end up in a hospital that requests … Continue reading Blood transfusions – the basics
Neonatal hypoglycaemia is a very common reason for you to get woken up as an intern in the postnatal ward. The WHO guideline defines hypoglycaemia as <45 mg/dl but this value has been found to vary quite a bit amongst different guidelines around the world. If you're working in Sri Lanka though I would advise … Continue reading Sugar lows in neonates – the basics
As an intern in the postnatal ward (which should happen for a period of your paediatric appointment), one of your responsibilities will be routinely attending emergencies. Be it obstructed labour, meconium stained liquor, reduced fetal movements or even to document an IUD, the indications are endless. As an intern, I had to go alone for … Continue reading Neonatal resuscitation – the basics
As a paediatric intern on the postnatal ward jaundice is going to be a common occurrence. Most of the time the serum bilirubin will come back well below, but very rarely the baby will need either single or double phototherapy. So below I'm going to write about what should be done when a baby seems … Continue reading Neonatal jaundice – the basics
How did doctors survive prior to easy access phone applications? I don't have a clue. I cannot for a second imagine surviving my job without these apps. They really do make working as a doctor much more efficient. Drug formulary apps make it easier to quickly find out the appropriate drug for a condition and … Continue reading My go to medical apps!
Due to the large surface area that new born babies have, they are quick to be victims of dehydration. It is vital the healthcare practitioners are on the look out for signs of dehydration in babies (dry skin, reduced urine output and lethargy especially) and also correct any feeding difficulties/prescribe adequate maintenance fluid. In the … Continue reading Fluid calculations in neonates – the basics
So as it goes, I didn't choose the NICU life. The NICU life chose me. How did I get here? In Sri Lanka, you can only choose 2 out of the main 4 medical subjects to do your internship in and each lasts 6 months. After doing paediatrics and surgery during my internship, I was … Continue reading Life in the NICU
Background scenario A baby was born via normal vaginal delivery at 38 weeks and on immediate examination, the labour room nurses and midwives thought the baby had abnormally short limbs. This was the second pregnancy for the young mother and she had no risk factors. Her 1st child was well and she nor her husband … Continue reading A baby with abnormal limbs.
Warning: graphic content (not for the faint-hearted) Background scenario So as a PHO (the HO who covers the postnatal section) you would hope to be not called for one of these emergencies. I was lucky enough to never have to experience this but a few have. One such situation was when a child delivered by … Continue reading Distress at first breath.
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