[Nasal CPAP versus mechanical ventilation in 28 to 32-week preterm infants with early surfactant administration]

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is useful in low birth weight infants with respiratory distress, but it is not known if it is a better alternative to mechanical ventilation after early pulmonary surfactant administration.

To compare the incidence of adverse events in 28 to 32-week newborns with respiratory distress managed with mechanical ventilation or CPAP after early surfactant administration.

In total, 176 newborns were treated with CPAP and 147 with mechanical ventilation, all with Apgar scores >3 at five minutes and without apnea.

The incidence of CPAP failure was 6.5% (95% CI: 11.3-22.8%); 29 patients died: 7 with CPAP (4.0%) and 22 with mechanical ventilation (15.0%, p<0.001). The relative risk of dying with CPAP versus mechanical ventilation was 0.27 (95% CI: 0.12-0.61), but after adjusting for confounding factors, CPAP use did not imply a higher risk of dying (RR=0.60; 95% CI: 0.29-1.24). Mechanical ventilation fatality rate was 5.70 (95% CI: 3.75-8.66) deaths/1,000 days-patient, while with CPAP it was 1.37 (95% CI: 0.65-2.88, p<0.001). Chronic lung disease incidence was lower with CPAP than with mechanical ventilation (RR=0.71; 95% CI: 0.54-0.96), as were intracranial hemorrhage (RR=0.28, 95% CI: 0.09-0.84) and sepsis (RR=0.67; 95%CI: 0.52-0.86), and it was similar for air leaks (RR=2.51; 95% CI: 0.83-7.61) and necrotizing enterocolitis (RR=1.68, 95% CI: 0.59-4.81).

CPAP exposure of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome is protective against chronic lung disease, intraventricular hemorrhage and sepsis compared to mechanical ventilation. No differences were observed regarding air leak syndrome or death.