Long-term impact of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on pulmonary function

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the longterm respiratory consequences of prematurity are unfamiliar to adult respirologists and remain under-recognized entities to adult caregivers. In Canada, the incidence of preterm births and its main chronic respiratory complication, BPD, have increased over the past 25 years.

To describe the posthospitalization morbidity, medication use, health care use and pulmonary function tests of a large cohort of individuals with preterm birth complicated by BPD.

A retrospective review of the hospital records of 322 preterm infants with BPD was conducted. Outcome variables were compared across levels of disease severity. Differences between groups were tested with one-way ANOVA for continuous variables and the Mantel-Haenszel chi-squared test for ordinal variables.

Outcomes after the initial hospitalization that were associated with the initial severity of BPD were as follows: hospital readmissions in the first two years of life, the presence of developmental delay, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity on pulmonary function tests in patients between eight and 15 years of age.

Initial BPD severity was an important predictor of pulmonary function abnormality and health care use during childhood.