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Prophylactic nasal continuous positive airways pressure in newborns of 28-31 weeks gestation: multicentre randomised
F Sandri1, G Ancora, A Lanzoni
1Instituto di Neonatologia, Via Massarenti, 11 40138 Bologna, Italy. sandri@med.unibo.it
Background:
The role of nasal continuous positive airways pressure (nCPAP) in the management of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants is not completely defined.
Objective:
To evaluate the benefits and risks of prophylactic nCPAP in infants of 28-31 weeks gestation.
Design:
Multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial.
Setting:
Seventeen Italian neonatal intensive care units.
Patients:
A total of 230 newborns of 28-31 weeks gestation, not intubated in the delivery room and without major malformations, were randomly assigned to prophylactic or rescue nCPAP.
Interventions:
Prophylactic nCPAP was started within 30 minutes of birth, irrespective of oxygen requirement and clinical status. Rescue nCPAP was started when Fio2 requirement was > 0.4, for more than 30 minutes, to maintain transcutaneous oxygen saturation between 93% and 96%. Exogenous surfactant was given when Fio2 requirement was > 0.4 in nCPAP in the presence of radiological signs of respiratory distress syndrome.
Main Outcome Measures:
Primary end point: need for exogenous surfactant. Secondary end points: need for mechanical ventilation and incidence of air leaks.
Results:
Surfactant was needed by 22.6% in the prophylaxis group and 21.7% in the rescue group. Mechanical ventilation was required by 12.2% in both the prophylaxis and rescue group. The incidence of air leaks was 2.6% in both groups. More than 80% of both groups had received prenatal steroids.
Conclusions:
In newborns of 28-31 weeks gestation, there is no greater benefit in giving prophylactic nCPAP than in starting nCPAP when the oxygen requirement increases to a Fio2 > 0.4.
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