Parma, August 28, 2026 – For a newborn weighing just one kilogram, ten milliliters can make the difference between life and death. This happened at the Children’s Hospital of Parma, where a premature baby born at 28 weeks of gestation was saved after a sudden and severe slowing of the heartbeat. What made it possible to understand what was happening was an ultrasound performed directly in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, followed by a pericardiocentesis, an extremely delicate procedure to aspirate the fluid that was compressing the heart.
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The little one worsened rapidly during the night
The little one, born at just over six and a half months of pregnancy and admitted to the Hub center, had initially responded well to treatment. Then, in the middle of the night, the situation deteriorated. It was around 2 a.m. when neonatologist Antonio Di Peri observed extreme bradycardia: the heart was beating increasingly slowly and the baby was rapidly worsening. Blood tests did not provide a sufficient explanation.
The cardiac ultrasound
The turning point came with the cardiac ultrasound. The exam showed a significant accumulation of fluid in the pericardium, the thin membrane surrounding the heart. The pressure risked progressively compromising cardiac function and leading to tamponade. There was no time to lose.
The intervention
The Neonatal Intensive Care and Neonatology team then prepared to intervene directly at the baby’s bedside. Under ultrasound guidance, Di Peri performed the pericardiocentesis, managing to aspirate about 10 milliliters of fluid. With him were resident Eleonora Alfieri and nurses Simona Orlandini, Ivana Marcone, and Emanuele Busi.
“The maneuver was performed calmly, precisely, and resolutely”
“The maneuver was performed with calm, precision, and resoluteness – explains the director of Neonatology, Serafina Perrone –. Ten milliliters represent a significant volume for a newborn weighing just over one kilogram, but a minimal amount for those performing the procedure: intervening in spaces of just a few millimeters requires technical skill, great precision, and control of the gesture.” The result was immediate. Once the fluid compressing the heart was removed, the heartbeat progressively resumed its normal rhythm and the baby’s condition stabilized.
The newborn resumed the normal growth path
After a few weeks, the newborn shows no consequences related to the episode and has resumed the normal growth path. “It is a very rare situation, in which one must be able to recognize the problem and intervene immediately – explains the director of the Maternal-Child Department of the Maggiore Hospital, Roberto Berretta –. Pericardiocentesis in a newborn of extremely low weight is an exceptional life-saving and technically very delicate procedure. The skills and organization of a HUB center like Parma’s allowed the emergency to be quickly recognized and addressed promptly and safely.”
“Such rare events show how important it is to train beforehand”
For Di Peri, the training received specifically on procedures of this type was also decisive. “It is a procedure I had studied and trained on during the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Master coordinated by Professor Perrone – he recounts -. At that moment I recognized what was happening and knew what needed to be done. Such rare events show how important it is to train before the moment when those skills become indispensable.”
“Also face exceptional situations with promptness and safety”
The case, hospital staff explain, also tells the value of the organization of a Hub center, where skills must be available at any time to face emergencies that are anything but frequent. “We cannot know when such a rare emergency will occur, nor which professional will be called to face it – concludes Perrone -. But we can ensure that the necessary skills are widespread, maintained over time, and available at any moment. Continuous training, experience in intensive care activity, and teamwork allow us to also face exceptional situations with the promptness and safety that these little patients require.”
