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Published on: August 9, 2024
Volume guarantee versus high-frequency ventilation: lung inflammation in preterm infants
G Lista1, F Castoldi, S Bianchi
1NICU, Vittore Buzzi Children's Hospital, ICP, Via Castelvetro 32, 20154, Milan, Italy. g.lista@icp.mi.it
Insights
Volume-guarantee (VG) ventilation is a lung-protective strategy for premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). VG ventilation showed lower inflammation markers compared to high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV).
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Critical Care
Background:
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a significant concern in premature infants, often initiated by lung inflammation.
- High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and volume-guarantee (VG) ventilation are established treatments for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of HFOV and VG ventilation in preventing BPD during the acute phase of RDS.
- To compare lung inflammation markers in premature infants treated with HFOV versus VG ventilation.
Main Methods:
- A randomized clinical study involving 40 premature infants (25-32 weeks gestational age) with RDS.
- Infants were assigned to either assist-control ventilation with VG (tidal volume 5 ml/kg) or HFOV.
- Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor levels were measured in tracheal aspirates on days 1, 3, and 7.
Main Results:
- The HFOV group exhibited significantly higher IL-6 levels on day 3 compared to the VG group.
- Infants in the HFOV group required longer oxygen dependency (36 days) than those in the VG group (19 days).
Conclusions:
- Volume-guarantee (VG) ventilation demonstrates effectiveness as a lung-protective strategy in acute RDS.
- VG ventilation resulted in lower expression of early inflammation markers compared to HFOV.
- Further research is needed to confirm if this initial ventilatory strategy prevents BPD.
Background:
Appropriate ventilation together with improvement of clinical care of premature babies can contribute to reducing lung inflammation, known to represent the "primum movens" of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and volume-guarantee (VG) ventilation are effective in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
Objective:
To assess the potential of HFOV and VG to prevent BPD in the acute phase of RDS, by a randomised clinical study evaluating lung inflammation in premature infants.
Study Design:
Forty infants (gestational age 25-32 weeks) with RDS were assigned to assist-control ventilation plus VG (Vt = 5 ml/kg) or HFOV (both with a Dräger Babylog 8000 plus ventilator). Levels of interleukin (IL) 6, IL8 and tumour necrosis factor were determined in tracheal aspirate on days 1, 3 and 7 of life.
Results:
In the HFOV group IL6 levels were significantly higher on day 3 (0.5 (0.2) vs assisted-control ventilation plus VG group 0.1 (0.2) ng/ml) and oxygen dependency was significantly longer (36 (23) vs assisted-control ventilation plus VG group 19 (11) days).
Conclusion:
VG ventilation is an effective lung-protective strategy to be used in acute RDS, inducing a lower expression of early inflammation markers than HFOV. Whether the use of this initial ventilatory strategy contributes to the prevention of BPD requires further studies.
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