In the Sophia Children’s Hospital of Erasmus MC, the neonatology department is working with new technology to detect sepsis early in premature babies. As a result, fewer babies become seriously ill and fewer children die from severe blood poisoning. About a hundred babies die every year from the effects of sepsis. This is reported by Erasmus MC.
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It is a HeRO warning system that works with big data analyzes of the heart rhythm. This system has been used on 1,200 premature babies and has been shown to be able to estimate whether a premature baby is developing blood poisoning. “The number of babies dying from sepsis appears to be a quarter lower compared to the years before we used the warning system,” says pediatrician neonatologist Rob Taal. Babies also become less seriously ill because they receive treatment earlier.
Antibiotics or not?
If blood poisoning is suspected, babies are given antibiotics as a precaution, but this is sometimes unnecessary. A change in heart rate variability is not always caused by sepsis. That is why the Sophia Children’s Hospital combines the HeRO technology with blood tests, which test for different values. This makes it possible to accurately estimate whether a baby will develop sepsis and need antibiotics.
By: National Care Guide / Johanne Levinsky
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