Continuous positive airway pressure: current controversies

Continuous positive airway pressure is increasingly being used in the care of premature infants. The purpose of this review is to highlight the current controversies in the use of neonatal continuous positive airway pressure.

This review explores information about the devices available for delivering continuous positive airway pressure and the pressures that can be used. It also investigates the controversial issues of using continuous positive airway pressure during resuscitation of premature infants and whether infants who are going to be managed on continuous positive airway pressure should be intubated and given surfactant before continuous positive airway pressure is started. It reviews the use of continuous positive airway pressure and the prevention of chronic lung disease and the use of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and the difficult area of weaning from continuous positive airway pressure.

Existing evidence suggests that short binasal prongs are most effective, nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation is a useful way of augmenting neonatal continuous positive airway pressure and that very premature infants can be managed with neonatal continuous positive airway pressure in the delivery room as part of the resuscitation. Further research is required to determine whether important outcomes are improved with the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure rather than endotracheal intubation and, if so, whether surfactant should be given to infants so managed. Definition of optimal levels of continuous positive airway pressure for infants at varying stages of their disease also requires further research.