[Reserves for lowering the neonatal mortality of premature children]

A tendency for a decrease in the rate of neonatal mortality among preterm babies could be followed up in industrialized countries for the current decade. This tendency is less pronounced in the USSR. Therefore newer diagnostic and therapeutic approaches developed in the clinical department of the Scientific and Research Institute of Pediatrics, the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, could be regarded as reserves for the reduction of neonatal mortality in preterm children. They include the analysis of etiological structure of present-day pyo-septic diseases (monitoring of intrahospital flora, target-oriented treatment-the use of anti-klebsiella plasma); consideration of new aspects of pathogenesis (population structure and the receptor function of the blood defensive cells); metabolite therapy; individualization of antibacterial treatment on the basis of pharmacokinetic assessment; optimized breeding techniques (prolonged probe nutrition); background correction (perinatal encephalopathy, the syndrome of respiratory distress); newer socio-medical approaches (psychotherapy of nursing mothers, "kangaroo" method).