In this episode of The Incubator India Podcast, hosts Dr. Anita Singh and Dr. Akanksha Verma review six recent studies led by Indian researchers that address key challenges in neonatal care.

The discussion begins with a randomized trial from SGPGI Lucknow comparing nasal DuoPAP with CPAP in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. While DuoPAP was non-inferior to CPAP, it reduced the need for surfactant. A second trial from Safdarjung Hospital and PGI Chandigarh asked whether CPAP improves outcomes over oxygen hood therapy in mild to moderate meconium aspiration syndrome; most babies were managed safely with oxygen alone.

Attention then turns to neonatal shock. A study from AIIMS Rishikesh compared norepinephrine with dopamine as first-line agents, while a trial from PGI Chandigarh tested early hydrocortisone alongside vasoactive support. Both reflect the difficulty of improving survival in the setting of multidrug-resistant gram-negative sepsis but point toward norepinephrine as a safer choice.

The hosts also highlight findings from a multicenter Lancet Global Health study documenting the burden of sepsis and resistance patterns in district hospitals. The episode concludes with a QI project from St. John’s Bangalore, showing how structured implementation can improve “golden hour” care for preterm infants.

The articles covered on today’s episode of the podcast can be found here

1)Kaur H, Singh A, Naranje KM, Gupta G, Solanki PS, Mishra P. Nasal DUOPAP vs nasal continuous positive airway pressure in preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome - A randomized control trial. Early Hum Dev. 2025;207:106284. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2025.106284

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378-3782(25)00094-5

2)Mustaqeem A, Yadav A, Kumar J, Debata P. Continuous positive airway pressure versus conventional oxygen therapy in meconium aspiration syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. J Trop Pediatr. 2025;71(2):fmaf002. doi:10.1093/tropej/fmaf002

https://academic.oup.com/tropej/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/tropej/fmaf002

3)Mazhari MYA, Priyadarshi M, Singh P, Chaurasia S, Basu S. Norepinephrine versus Dopamine for Septic Shock in Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Pediatr. 2025;282:114599. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114599

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022-3476(25)00139-8

4)Dudeja S, Saini SS, Sundaram V, Dutta S, Sachdeva N, Kumar P. Early hydrocortisone verses placebo in neonatal shock- a double blind Randomized controlled trial. J Perinatol. 2025;45(3):342-349. doi:10.1038/s41372-025-02222-3

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02222-3

5)Jain K, Kumar V, Plakkal N, et al. Multidrug-resistant sepsis in special newborn care units in five district hospitals in India: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Glob Health. 2025;13(5):e870-e878. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00564-3

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2214-109X(24)00564-3

6)Amuji N, Appaji Rao S, Yemmethimmanahalli Nagaraju P, Gautham Suresh K, Steven S, Bada Shekharappa C. Improving the quality of care for preterm infants in the golden hour. BMJ Open Qual. 2025;14(1):e002277. Published 2025 Mar 23. doi:10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002277

https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/lookup/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=40122573