Evaluation and treatment of thrombosis in the neonatal intensive care unit

Thromboses are infrequent but serious complications of patients in the neon atal intensive care unit. Thromboses tend to occur in very sick neonates, p articularly preterm neonates, and the majority of such thromboses are relat ed to central vascular catheters. Other risk factors for neonatal thrombose s include infants of diabetic mothers, sepsis, small for gestational age, c ongenital heart disease, maternal antiphospholipid syndrome, and possibly i nherited prothrombotic disorders. Appropriate treatment, dosage, and durati on of therapy for neonatal thromboses has not been studied in clinical tria ls. Treatment options include observation, anticoagulation, thrombolysis, a nd surgical thrombectomy. Regardless of the treatment chosen, all neonates with thromboses require frequent reassessment of the thromboses by angiogra phy, echocardiography, or ultrasound until thrombus resolution occurs.