Abstract
Surfactant improves lung mechanics and the success of non-invasive respiratory support in preterm infants. The lack of non-invasive bedside tools for monitoring lung mechanics makes current guidelines for surfactant therapy based on O2 requirements, which may be not specific for this application.
Objective: To assess feasibility and role of early, non-invasive evaluation of respiratory mechanics by FOT in non-intubated preterm infants for stratifying the severity of respiratory disease.
Eligibility: 28-34wk gestation, no need of early intubation after birth. FOT at 10Hz was applied by a modified ventilator (Fabian, Acutronic) and a face-mask during CPAP=5cmH2O. Measurements were performed at 2 and 24h of life. FiO2 was titrated and surfactant given as in Sweet (2016).
4 groups (n=45) were considered: Patients not requiring respiratory support (SB); receiving CPAP for less than (CPAP-S) or more than 28d (CPAP-L) but who never received surfactant and patients who received surfactant (Surf).
Xrs in Surf and CPAP-L was significantly lower at 2h compared to SB and CPAP-S (fig 1). After receiving surfactant patients improved, leaving CPAP-L only showing significantly lower Xrs at 24h.
Xrs stratifies patients according to the degree of respiratory disease. CPAP-L infants presented poor Xrs at 2h, did not match clinical criteria for surfactant but had a long respiratory support dependence.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2019; 54: Suppl. 63, PA1032.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2019