Related Experiment Videos
Development of airway function in infancy after preterm delivery
Ah-Fong Hoo1, Carol Dezateux, Matthias Henschen
1Portex Anaesthesia, Intensive Therapy and Respiratory Medicine Unit, Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Preterm infants without respiratory issues show declining airway function by 1 year, indicating altered development. Airway function tracked consistently from early infancy to 1 year.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Neonatal Research
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Preterm birth can impact long-term respiratory health.
- Assessing airway function in healthy preterm infants is crucial for understanding developmental trajectories.
- Neonatal respiratory disease is a known risk factor for later airway issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate airway function at 1 year in preterm infants.
- To compare 1-year airway function with measurements taken shortly after birth.
- To investigate the impact of preterm delivery on airway development in the absence of neonatal respiratory disease.
Main Methods:
- Recruited preterm infants born at <=36 weeks gestational age without neonatal ventilatory support.
- Measured maximal expiratory flow at functional residual capacity (V'(maxFRC)) around 3 weeks and at a corrected age of 1 year.
- Expressed V'(maxFRC) as Z scores using sex-specific prediction equations.
Main Results:
- Infant V'(maxFRC) Z scores were normal shortly after birth (mean Z score: -0.06).
- By 1 year, V'(maxFRC) Z scores significantly decreased (mean change: -1.94).
- V'(maxFRC) Z scores at 3 weeks strongly correlated with those at 1 year (Spearman's rho = 0.64).
Conclusions:
- Airway function demonstrates significant tracking during the first year of life.
- Preterm delivery is linked to altered airway development in early infancy, even without neonatal respiratory disease.
- Early airway measurements can predict later function in preterm infants.
Objective:
To assess airway function at 1 year and compare this with similar measurements made shortly after birth in preterm infants without clinical neonatal respiratory disease.
Study Design:
Infants born at
Results:
V'(maxFRC) was within normal range for all infants shortly after birth (mean +/- SD Z score: -0.06 +/- 0.92). By 1 year, Z scores had reduced significantly [mean (95% CI) 2nd-1st test: -1.94 (-2.27, -1.60)]. V'(maxFRC )Z scores at 3 weeks were highly correlated with those at 1 year of age (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.64).
Conclusions:
Airway function during the first year shows considerable tracking. Even in the absence of neonatal respiratory disease, preterm delivery is associated with altered airway development during early infancy.