PhD Student Ralphe and Brandon Submit NIH NRSA Fellowship Application

Kudos to Jane Ralphe, PhD student; and her sponsor Debra Brandon, associate professor; for the submission of her NIH NRSA Fellowship application entitled "Exploring the Association Between Longitudinal Body Temperature Instability and Respiratory Morbidity in the Very Premature Infant." This proposal requests funds for a 16-month period with a start date of Sept. 1, 2019.

With an incidence rate of about 50%, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the number one complication of the very low birthweight (VLBW) infant (<1500 g). BPD is the abnormal development of alveoli and lung vasculature following premature delivery. It can double the cost of an infant’s neonatal intensive care unit stay, and is associated with additional morbidities such as: developmental disability, growth retardation, and asthma. BPD is considered multifactorial in etiology. Hypothermia and hyperthermia during the early hours of life are risk factors, yet the relationship between longitudinal body temperature instability and BPD has yet to be examined. This mixed-methods, multiple case secondary analysis of 22 VLBW infants will examine the relationships between: 1) longitudinal infant body temperatures and respiratory morbidity; 2) daily respiratory care interventions (RCIs) and infant body temperatures over time. Physiological data (e.g. body temperatures) collected over the first 14 days of life will be cleaned into case datasets. Video files from the first 5 days of life will be coded for RCIs (e.g. suctioning)then merged with 5 days of physiologic data into separate case datasets. Additional clinical data will be obtained from the electronic health record to inform each case.