Ola Didrik Saugstad

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Ola Didrik Saugstad
Born (1947-03-05) 5 March 1947 (age 77) [1]
Nationality Norwegian
Alma mater University of Oslo
Known forResearch on resuscitation of newborn children
Scientific career
Fields Medicine (pediatrics, neonatology)
Institutions University of Oslo
Doctoral advisor Gösta Rooth

Ola Didrik Saugstad (born 5 March 1947) is a Norwegian pediatrician, neonatologist and neuroscientist noted for his research on resuscitation of newborn children and his contribution to reduce child mortality. [2] He is a Research Professor at Oslo University Hospital and Professor of Neonatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of Oslo and was Director of the Department of Pediatric Research at Oslo University Hospital from 1991 to 2017. [1] [3]

Contents

Christian P. Speer and Henry L. Halliday described Saugstad as a "world renowned expert in neonatal medicine," particularly on hypoxia and purine metabolism, hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, the effect and mechanisms of oxygen radicals in the neonatal period, mechanisms of lung injury and newborn resuscitation. [4] In 2010, international guidelines for newborn resuscitation were amended, based on the research of Saugstad and his colleagues, to recommend the use of air in place of pure oxygen, a discovery that is estimated to save the lives of 200,000 newborn children each year. [5] He is an advisor to the World Health Organization on child mortality. Saugstad has been cited over 30,000 times in scientific literature. [6] The NRK describes him as "the most internationally recognized and most widely cited Norwegian pediatrician of all times." [2]

Saugstad received the 2012 Nordic Medical Prize, is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and became a Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 2010. His 2019 book Kampen om oksygenet ("The War Over Oxygen") discusses what he describes as "one [of] the greatest scandals in the history of medicine;" [7] former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik introduced the book when it was released at the House of Literature in Oslo. [8]

Background

Ola Didrik Saugstad is a son of the psychologist Per Saugstad and a grandson of the former rector of the University of Oslo Didrik Arup Seip. His father earned a PhD in psychology at the University of Chicago in 1952, before he became a professor of psychology at the University of Oslo, and was noted for introducing an experimental approach to psychology in Norway, influenced by American psychology. Ola Didrik Saugstad is the brother of Jens Saugstad, a professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo.

Career

He graduated with the cand. med. degree at the University of Oslo in 1973. Already as a medical student he became interested in the Swedish professor Gösta Rooth's research in the field of perinatal medicine and especially intrauterine asphyxia, and Rooth invited him to come to Sweden and do research; thus, after graduation he was a research fellow at Uppsala University Hospital. The research he carried out under Rooth's mentorship laid the foundation for his doctoral dissertation in 1977, Hypoxanthine as an Indicator of Hypoxia, and for what would become his major research interest.

From 1980 to 1981 he was a Fogarty International Fellow at the Department of Neonatology of the University of California, San Diego, in the unit of the legendary professor Louis Gluck, known as the father of neonatology.

Saugstad was appointed senior consultant in newborn medicine at Rikshospitalet in 1986. In 1991, he also became Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Department of Pediatric Research at the University of Oslo. From 2002 to 2004 he was President of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine. [1] He was a board member of the European Society of Pediatric Research from 1987 to 1990, and of the International Pediatric Foundation from 2001 to 2004. [4]

Saugstad retired as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Department of Pediatric Research at the end of 2017. From 2017 he is affiliated with Oslo University Hospital as a research professor. [9] In 2018 he was also appointed as Professor of Neonatology at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Research

In 1980, Saugstad was the first to demonstrate that oxygenation after a period of asphyxia could result in an explosive increase in oxygen radicals. In the late 1980s, Saugstad and Rooth published a seminal article questioning the use of 100% oxygen in the resuscitation of newborn children. [10] This would lead to his major discovery of the dangers of using 100% oxygen, resulting in the amendment of the international guidelines for newborn resuscitation in 2010 based on the research of Saugstad and his team. [5] Saugstad has described the use of 100% oxygen as "one of the largest scandals in the history of medicine." [11] It is estimated that his discovery can save the lives of 200,000 children each year. [5]

He has published more than 500 articles and book chapters in journals and books. He has served as an editor or a member of the editorial boards of several journals. According to Google Scholar, his work has been cited over 30,000 times in scientific literature, and he has an h-index of 86. [6]

His 2019 book Kampen om oksygenet ("The War Over Oxygen") discusses what he describes as "one [of] the greatest scandals in the history of medicine;" [7] former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik introduced the book when it was released at the House of Literature in Oslo. [8]

Saugstad is known for having taken elements of the research of 2019's Nobel laureates in medicine William Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza to the infant's bedside. [12]

Awards and recognitions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphyxia</span> Severely deficient supply of oxygen

Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are many circumstances that can induce asphyxia, all of which are characterized by the inability of a person to acquire sufficient oxygen through breathing for an extended period of time. Asphyxia can cause coma or death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apgar score</span> Scale for newborn viability

The Apgar score is a quick way for health professionals to evaluate the health of all newborns at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and in response to resuscitation. It was originally developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist at Columbia University, Virginia Apgar, to address the need for a standardized way to evaluate infants shortly after birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infant respiratory distress syndrome</span> Human disease affecting newborns

Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfactant production and structural immaturity in the lungs. It can also be a consequence of neonatal infection and can result from a genetic problem with the production of surfactant-associated proteins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neonatology</span> Medical care of newborns, especially the ill or premature

Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The principal patients of neonatologists are newborn infants who are ill or require special medical care due to prematurity, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital malformations, sepsis, pulmonary hypoplasia, or birth asphyxia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neonatal intensive care unit</span> Intensive care unit specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants

A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. The NICU is divided into several areas, including a critical care area for babies who require close monitoring and intervention, an intermediate care area for infants who are stable but still require specialized care, and a step down unit where babies who are ready to leave the hospital can receive additional care before being discharged.

Perinatal asphyxia is the medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen to a newborn infant that lasts long enough during the birth process to cause physical harm, usually to the brain. It remains a serious condition which causes significant mortality and morbidity. It is also the inability to establish and sustain adequate or spontaneous respiration upon delivery of the newborn, an emergency condition that requires adequate and quick resuscitation measures. Perinatal asphyxia is also an oxygen deficit from the 28th week of gestation to the first seven days following delivery. It is also an insult to the fetus or newborn due to lack of oxygen or lack of perfusion to various organs and may be associated with a lack of ventilation. In accordance with WHO, perinatal asphyxia is characterised by: profound metabolic acidosis, with a pH less than 7.20 on umbilical cord arterial blood sample, persistence of an Apgar score of 3 at the 5th minute, clinical neurologic sequelae in the immediate neonatal period, or evidence of multiorgan system dysfunction in the immediate neonatal period. Hypoxic damage can occur to most of the infant's organs, but brain damage is of most concern and perhaps the least likely to quickly or completely heal. In more pronounced cases, an infant will survive, but with damage to the brain manifested as either mental, such as developmental delay or intellectual disability, or physical, such as spasticity.

Per Saugstad was a Norwegian psychologist. He was Professor of Psychology at the University of Oslo, and is noted for his work on visual perception, thinking, language, and the history of psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerebral hypoxia</span> Oxygen shortage of the brain

Cerebral hypoxia is a form of hypoxia, specifically involving the brain; when the brain is completely deprived of oxygen, it is called cerebral anoxia. There are four categories of cerebral hypoxia; they are, in order of increasing severity: diffuse cerebral hypoxia (DCH), focal cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, and global cerebral ischemia. Prolonged hypoxia induces neuronal cell death via apoptosis, resulting in a hypoxic brain injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intrauterine hypoxia</span> Medical condition when the fetus is deprived of sufficient oxygen

Intrauterine hypoxia occurs when the fetus is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen. It may be due to a variety of reasons such as prolapse or occlusion of the umbilical cord, placental infarction, maternal diabetes and maternal smoking. Intrauterine growth restriction may cause or be the result of hypoxia. Intrauterine hypoxia can cause cellular damage that occurs within the central nervous system. This results in an increased mortality rate, including an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Oxygen deprivation in the fetus and neonate have been implicated as either a primary or as a contributing risk factor in numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders and cerebral palsy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Didrik Arup Seip</span>

Didrik Arup Seip was a professor of North Germanic languages at the University of Oslo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karthik Nagesh</span>

Dr. Karthik Nagesh is a neonatologist in India. He has been practicing neonatal intensive care since 1992 at the Manipal Hospital in Bangalore. He is well known in India for his pioneering work in intensive care for sick neonates especially, Surfactant Therapy and ventilation for sick babies with respiratory distress. He is currently the Chairman of the Manipal Advanced Children's Center and Chairman and HOD of Neonatology and Neonatal ICUs at the Manipal Hospitals Group as well as an adjunct professor of paediatrics, KMC at Manipal University.

Stefan Kutzsche is a Norwegian paediatrician, neonatologist and anaesthesiologist. His research fields include neonatology and neuroscience, medical ethics, education, and the history of medicine.

Gösta Rooth was a Swedish physician and a pioneer of perinatal medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neonatal resuscitation</span> An emergency medical procedure

Neonatal resuscitation, also known as newborn resuscitation, is an emergency procedure focused on supporting approximately 10% of newborn children who do not readily begin breathing, putting them at risk of irreversible organ injury and death. Many of the infants who require this support to start breathing well on their own after assistance. Through positive airway pressure, and in severe cases chest compressions, medical personnel certified in neonatal resuscitation can often stimulate neonates to begin breathing on their own, with attendant normalization of heart rate.

John Colin Partridge is an American pediatrician and neonatologist, and an expert on neonatal intensive care, perinatal brain imaging, international medical education and neonatal medical ethics. He is a Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and held the Academy Chair in Pediatric Education, an endowed chair at the same university, from 2007 to 2013. According to Google Scholar, his work has been cited over 6,700 times in scientific publications, and his h-index is 37.

Thor Willy Ruud Hansen is a Norwegian pediatrician and neonatologist. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oslo and a former President of the Norwegian Society of Pediatricians (2009–2011). He is currently chairman of the clinical ethics committee at Oslo University Hospital. His research interests are neonatal medicine, including the neurotoxicology of neonatal jaundice, as well as clinical ethics.

Angela Okolo is a Nigerian professor of pediatrics and child health, neonatologist in the department of Pediatrics, Federal Medical Center, Asaba and President of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM).

Christian P. Speer is a German pediatrician and Professor of Pediatrics specialized in neonatology at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg. Speer is known for his scientific and educational contributions in neonatal medicine.

Jerold Francis Lucey was an American pediatrician and journal editor. He specialised in the field of neonatology, and introduced several therapies to mainstream use in the United States, including phototherapy for neonatal jaundice, transcutaneous oxygen monitoring, and pulmonary surfactant use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Halliday (paediatrician)</span> British neonatologist (1945–2022)

Henry Lewis Halliday was a British-Irish paediatrician and neonatologist. In 2021, Halliday was awarded the James Spence Medal for research into neonatology, for coordinating two of the largest neonatal multicentre trials for prevention and treatment of a number of neonatal respiratory illnesses and for a breakthrough in the development of a new lung surfactant that brought relief to very small babies suffering from infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Henriksen, Petter, ed. (2007). "Ola Didrik Saugstad". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bjørnsonprisen for første gong til to nordmenn, NRK , 19 October 2011
  3. ↑ Prisdryss til professor Ola Didrik Saugstad
  4. 1 2 Christian P. Speer, Henry L. Halliday, Laudatio: Ola Didrik Saugstad – An Oxygen Radical. Neonatology 2008;94:188–189. doi : 10.1159/000143720
  5. 1 2 3 Elin Fugelsnes, Kan redde 200 000 nyfødte, forskning.no , 19 October 2010
  6. 1 2 Ola Didrik Saugstad, Google Scholar
  7. 1 2 Saugstad, Ola Didrik (2019). Kampen om oksygenet. Lunde.
  8. 1 2 "Ola Didrik Saugstad gir ut selvbiografi".
  9. 1 2 3 Prisdryss til professor Ola Didrik Saugstad
  10. ↑ Gösta Rooth, obituary, Dagens Nyheter , 2008-05-06
  11. ↑ Livsfarlig oksygen, Aftenposten , 1 April 2014
  12. ↑ Roehr, Charles C. (2019-10-07). "Sincere congratulations to the team of scientists".
  13. ↑ "Ola Saugstad". World Academy of Art and Science . Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Utnemning til St. Olavs Orden" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Royal House. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  15. ↑ Section on Perinatal Pediatrics: Newsletter Archived 2011-10-28 at the Wayback Machine , summer edition, 2011, American Academy of Pediatrics
  16. ↑ "Gruppe 7: Medisinske fag" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters . Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Norwegian paediatrician honoured by University of Athens, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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