International symposium addresses neonatal care

SANCTI SPIRITUS, Cuba, Jan 14 (ACN) The importance of adding advanced practices and studies such as functional echocardiography to newborn care was highlighted at the 1st Cuba-Argentina International Symposium organized in this city.

Among the topics discussed is the local experience in the use of this technique to treat newborn babies, as well as pulmonary hypertension and intrauterine growth disorders and related complications.

Dr. Cristina Osio, a specialist from the Otamendi Sanatorium in Buenos Aires, remarked that Neonatology is a relatively young science that has grown significantly over the last two or three decades, which has made it possible to improve the survival rate of increasingly younger children suffering from morbidities that used to be almost impossible to treat.

“In many places both in Argentina and across Latin America where I have been able to share this knowledge they have not developed this procedure, to the detriment of a proper diagnosis and treatment; nor have they shown any interest in this regard”, she stressed. “I hope that this symposium becomes a space to share views and contribute to the professional development of pediatricians, cardiologists and directors engaged in this field”.

On her end, Dr. Amary Yumar, second degree specialist in Neonatology said that these procedures allow for more accurate assessments, which complements the physical examination and provide more information about the patient.

“We hold that if we want to keep saving lives we need to do different things and rely on high-impact medicine, as well as to research and work together with experts from various fields, institutions and countries”, she pointed out.

In the last five years, the province of Sancti Spiritus, which by the end of 2024 boasted Cuba’s lowest infant mortality rate among children under one year of age―namely 3.6 per 1,000 live births―has managed to consolidate the results of the country’s Maternal and Infant Care Program.