Secondary Logo

Journal Logo

Advanced Search

Special Series: Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Target Publication Dates: Fall 2021, Advances in Neonatal Care, 2021(5) and 2021(6)

Submission Dates: Immediately through March 2021

Necrotizing enterocolitis is among the most feared, urgent and deadly complications in the neonatal intensive care unit. Research, broad stakeholder engagement and quality improvement work has led to modest decreases in the occurrence of NEC in recent years, but many opportunities remain. This special issue is calling for NEC-relevant manuscripts showcasing research breakthroughs; clinical improvements; family-centered practices; surgical care and post-operative considerations; and long-term impacts. All manuscript types typical for Advances in Neonatal Care are welcomed.

If interested in submitting a manuscript for this special series, please submit the following items for consideration to the guest editor or co-editors by February 2021.

  1. A working manuscript title
  2. Authors
  3. Short synopsis of your planned manuscript (3-4 sentences outlining content)
  4. Planned submission date 

 Submission of this information soon will help us with planning the series.

Please submit your ideas or comments to:

Guest Editor: Sheila M. Gephart, PhD, RN, FAAN gepharts@email.arizona.edu

Or Co-Editors for Advances in Neonatal Care

Jacqueline McGrath mcgrathj@uthscsa.edu  

Debra Brandon debra.brandon@duke.edu  


From the Editors for 2020(4) - ​

We begin the 2020(4) issue of Advances in Neonatal Care with an editorial submitted by our current NANN President, Joan Rikli, and our President-elect, Gail Bagwell. They help us to celebrate the 20 years of Advances in Neonatal Care. We continue with an overview of a timely NANN Policy Statement on Care of Mothers and Infants with COVID-19. This virus is changing everything about how we provide care across the lifespan. Please take the time to consider the implications for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) caregiving. We also provide you two clinical articles one about care of the infant with Acute Kidney Disease and another about Diaper Dermatitis. Both have implications for your daily care at the bedside of high-risk infants in the NICU.

As we continue to grow as a society, the ethical issues related to providing excellent care to infants with parents or family members who are from the LGBTQ community are becoming increasingly important in the NICU. These families, like all families need our respect and support. Please take the time to read our ethics section in this issue for more information about this timely topic. In our Professional Development section, we discuss the use of ultrasound to verify umbilical catheter placement. Outcomes of neonatal care are also important and increasing our understanding of how an NICU admission has long term effects on not only infant but also their parents is discussed in our next article. Several diverse research studies highlighted in this issue: the first examines the effects of lactation education; the next examines the post-traumatic stress experienced by NICU nurses; another examines parents' understanding of infant behaviors; while another examines susceptibility profiles of infants who encounter group B streptococcus and associated sepsis and co-infections; and the last examined correlates between heart rate characteristics and severe brain injury in infants with HIE. They are all clinically relevant studies that have implications in care of high-risk infants.

Thank you for your continued support and feedback about Advances in Neonatal Care. We are here for you!!


New From Issue 4! An Integrative Review of Clinical Characteristics of Infants With Diaper Dermatitis
In this well done integrative review the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the clinical characteristics of diaper dermatitis. The authors provide evidence-based descriptions for caregivers to know what to look for and when, how to intervene. The tables in this article are an excellent resource for bedside care providers who are confronted with diaper dermatitis on a daily basis
Use of Ultrasound to verify UVC placement is becoming somewhat more common place in the NICU. This article provides evidence to support how and when this technology might be helpful to advanced practice nurses and bedside care providers. Understanding how to read ultrasounds is important if this technology will be used in your NICU to verify placement.

Perinatal Counseling Following a Diagnosis of Trisomy 13 or 18: Incorporating the Facts, Parental Values, and Maintaining Choices
The authors of this manuscript discuss the importance of balanced decision-making between parents and providers for the appropriate perinatal palliative care. This approach is supported from a review and synthesis of infant outcomes in the literature.

Conceptually Redefining Neonatal Palliative Care 
The authors of this manuscript assert that improvements in neonatal palliative care is dependent in part on a consistent definition that is accepted and used by all providers. The neonatal palliative care literature is reviewed and synthesized to propose a more comprehensive definition of neonatal palliative care. 


Provision of palliative care is not just for those who are eminently dying. This article provides a broader more holistic view of integrating palliative care into the NICU and how such integration is more supportive of both infants and families.

Parents' experiences of support following stillbirth and neonatal death
The aim of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of parents in relation to professional and social support following stillbirth and neonatal death. Parents who experience the death of their infant in the NICU require individualized support from both professionals and their extended families during this difficult time. Pathways for healing must be facilitated.

Systematic review of the effects of skin-to-skin care on short-term physiologic stress outcomes in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit
This article summarizes the evidence that skin-to-skin care (SSC) improves short-term physiologic stress outcomes when compared with incubator care. SSC is a safe and essential component of optimal NICU care.

The role of the NICU in father involvement, beliefs, and confidence: A follow-up qualitative study
Fathers' describe their involvement and confidence during their infants NICU hospitalization. This article suggests that fathers see nurses and other providers as helping them overcome their uncertainty and improve their confidence and involvement in their infant's care in the NICU.



Current Issue Highlights