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Modulations in breathing patterns during intermittent feeding in term infants and preterm infants with
C M Craig1, D N Lee, Y N Freer
1MCF, UMR Mouvement et Perception, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
Insights
Infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) exhibit irregular breathing during feeding. This study found that BPD severity significantly impacts breathing duration and regularity in preterm infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) often experience oxygenation difficulties.
- Nutritive feeding introduces additional respiratory demands.
- Understanding feeding-related respiratory patterns is crucial for managing BPD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how nutritive feeding affects breathing rates in preterm infants with BPD.
- To compare breathing patterns during feeding between infants with BPD and healthy term infants.
Main Methods:
- Compared sucking and breathing patterns of preterm infants with BPD to healthy term infants.
- Recruited infants from a neonatal unit in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Analyzed breathing regularity and duration during intermittent feeding pauses.
Main Results:
- Infants with BPD showed less regular breathing patterns during feeding pauses compared to term infants.
- The severity of BPD significantly reduced breath duration and regularity (P<0.05) during feeding.
- Observed significant differences in breathing patterns between the BPD and control groups.
Conclusions:
- Nutritive feeding disrupts breathing patterns in preterm infants with BPD.
- BPD severity is directly correlated with impaired breathing during feeding.
- Findings highlight the need for careful respiratory monitoring during feeding in infants with BPD.
Abstract:
As infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have difficulty maintaining adequate levels of oxygenation during rest, it was decided to investigate how the additional respiratory demands associated with nutritive feeding disrupt their breathing rates. The sucking and breathing patterns of six (three male, three female) preterm infants (between 23 and 29 weeks gestational age at birth), classified as having BPD were individually compared with the patterns observed in 12 (six male, six female) healthy term (control) infants (> or = 38 weeks gestational age at birth) with no known respiratory ailments. All infants were recruited from the neonatal unit at Simpson's Maternity Pavilion, Edinburgh, Scotland. In general, the breathing patterns recorded for the infants with BPD during the pause periods of intermittent feeding lacked the striking regularity observed in the term infants. It was found that the severity of the BPD affected breathing rates by significantly reducing the duration and the regularity of a breath (P<0.05) while sucking during the intermittent phase of feeding.