Noninvasive respiratory support in neonates: a brief review

In the era of gentle ventilation and open lung strategy noninvasive ventilatory support in neonates has gained momentum and its use in nurseries around the world is also increased. This paper reviews various modalities of non-invasive respiratory support in some details and its relevance in the recent evidence based use. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a mode of ventilatory assistance in which positive pressure is delivered to the airway throughout the respiratory cycle. It is also referred to as continuous distending pressure (CDP) or positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) when applied through a ventilator along with intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV). It has been proven over the years to be an effective mode of ventilatory support and as such has gained widespread use in the management of a variety of neonatal respiratory diseases. It is relatively cheap and easy to apply and certainly feasible for routine use in underdeveloped world. Besides improving oxygenation CPAP often functions as an airway stabilizer of the trachea thus helping to decrease the frequency of neonatal apneas, particularly the obstructive variety. There is good to fair quality supportive evidence from several studies that the use of primary CPAP can reduce the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation in infants less than 32 weeks gestation. In this review, we will attempt to describe different delivery devices and pressure generating systems and discuss different ways in which CPAP can be applied. Although it is unclear that primary use of CPAP can reduce overall neonatal mortality and morbidity it is becoming increasingly clear that early CPAP use is less invasive, baby friendly and decreases the need and frequency of the use of surfactants. Besides, clinical indications for CPAP, its advantages and limitations will also be explored. CPAP adjuncts such as nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) and infant flow driver will also be discussed.