Neonatal Ventilation With Inhaled Nitric Oxide Versus Ventilatory Support Without Inhaled Nitric Oxide for Preterm...

Although inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) may be a promising treatment for newborn infants with severe respiratory failure, the results from 3 previous small trials were inconclusive.

Infants of <34 weeks' gestation, <28 days old, and with severe respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support were randomized to receive or not receive iNO. The study was not blinded.

Recruited were 108 infants (55 allocated to receive iNO and 53 not allocated to receive iNO) from 15 neonatal units in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Fifty-nine percent (64 of 108) died, and 84% of the survivors (37 of 44) had signs of some impairment or disability, 9 (20%) of them classified as severely disabled. There was no evidence of an effect of iNO on the primary outcomes: death or severe disability at 1 year corrected age (relative risk [RR]: 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76 to 1.29); death or supplemental oxygen on expected date of delivery (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.68 to 1.02); or death or supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.87 to 1.12). There was a trend for infants allocated to the iNO group to spend more time on the ventilator (log rank: 3.6), on supplemental oxygen (log rank: 1.4), and in hospital (log rank: 3.5) than those allocated to receive no iNO. This pattern predominantly reflected the infants who died. Mean total costs at 1 year corrected age were significantly higher in the iNO group, partly because of the costs of the gas but mainly because of the difference in initial hospitalization costs.

Evidence of prolongation of intensive care and increased costs of such care, without clear beneficial effects, implies that iNO cannot be recommended for preterm infants with severe hypoxic respiratory failure.