Abstract
The Management of Hypotension in the Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infant: Guideline for Practice, developed by Lyn Vargo, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, and Istvan Seri, MD, PhD, in 2011 under the auspices of the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, focuses on the challenging topic of clinical management of systemic hypotension in the very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infant during the first 3 days of postnatal life.
The recommendations and rationale in the excerpt below from the complete online publication are based on the best evidence available through both neonatal research and consultation of experts on the subject. They suggest a conservative, evidence-based treatment approach for the management of hypotension in the VLBW infant during the first 3 days of postnatal life that is logical, safe, and physiologically sound. The insufficient fund of knowledge on transitional cardiovascular physiology in general and pathophysiology in particular makes establishment of strict guidelines on the treatment of hypotension in VLBW neonates impossible. What becomes clear when presenting the evidence is how much more we need to know.
Readers are strongly encouraged to refer to the complete text of the guideline, which has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, for further understanding of this complex topic. The guideline is available free of charge at http://www.nann.org (click on Guidelines in the Education section).