Delivery Room Management of Infants with Surgical Conditions

Abstract

Delivery room resuscitation of infants with surgical conditions can be complex and depends on an experienced and cohesive multidisciplinary team whose performance is more important than that of any individual team member. Existing resuscitation algorithms were not developed for infants with congenital anomalies, and delivery room resuscitation is largely dictated by expert opinion extrapolating physiologic expectations from infants without anomalies. As prenatal diagnosis rates improve, there is an increased ability to plan for the unique delivery room needs of infants with surgical conditions. In this review, we share expert opinion, including our center's delivery room management for neonatal noncardiac surgical conditions, and highlight knowledge gaps and the need for further studies and evidence-based practice to be incorporated into the delivery room care of infants with surgical conditions. Future research in this area is essential to move from an expert-based approach to a data-driven approach to improve and individualize delivery room resuscitation of infants with surgical conditions.