Division of Neonatology
The clinical and teaching
activities of UK Neonatology are centered around a Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit (NICU) with both critical care and transitional beds.
Patient care strategies within the NICU include surfactant replacement
therapy, conventional and high frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy,
and ECMO. Approximately 40 percent of obstetrical patients at the UK
Medical Center are considered high risk; 20 percent of their
infants have low birth weight and are admitted to the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit. About 60 percent of the NICU admissions come from our own
delivery service. The remainder of the infants are transported by the
nurse clinician Neonatal Transport Team. The NICU team utilizes both
a ground and air transport system to bring patients to our intensive
care environment.
An organized follow-up program addresses the various needs of infants
after discharge. Studies of growth and development through three years
of age are being conducted as part of a multi-institutional collaborative
project. Facilities and programs for following children with developmental
abnormalities are in place.
Presently, faculty and fellow research projects within the division
include nitric oxide inhalation, evaluation of pain control in an intensive
care environment, surfactant replacement therapy, the effects of antenatal
steroids on newborn lymphocyte function, and the role of hypoxic and
hyperoxic environments on lung fibroblasts. Numerous basic science departments,
including pharmacology, are involved in research projects within the
division. A significant portion of divisional research is funded through
the National Institutes of Health.
 Neonatology Physicians
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