Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026
Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
Published on: October 31, 2025
Blood pressure intervention levels in preterm infants: pilot randomised trial
Sujith Stanley Pereira1,2, Ajay Kumar Sinha1,2, Joan Katherine Morris3
1Neonatal Unit, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
Objective:
To examine the feasibility of a trial allocating different blood pressure (BP) intervention levels for treatment in extremely preterm infants.
Design:
Three-arm open randomised controlled trial performed between February 2013 and April 2015.
Setting:
Single tertiary level neonatal intensive care unit.
Patients:
Infants born <29 weeks' gestation were eligible to participate, if parents consented and they did not have a major congenital malformation.
Interventions:
Infants were randomised to different levels of mean arterial BP at which they received cardiovascular support: active (<30 mm Hg), moderate (
Main Outcome Measure:
Inotrope usage and achieved BP.
Results:
Of 134 cases screened, 60 were enrolled, with mean gestation 25.8 weeks (SD 1.5) and birth weight 817 g (SD 190). Invasively measured BP on the first day and inotrope usage were highest in the active and lowest in the permissive arms. There were no differences in haemodynamic or EEG variables or in clinical complications. Predefined cranial ultrasound findings did not differ significantly; no infants in the active arm had parenchymal brain lesions.
Conclusion:
The BP threshold used to trigger treatment affects the achieved BP and inotrope usage, and it was possible to explore these effects using this study design.
Trial Registration Number:
ISRCTN83507686.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Blood Pressure
01:30Blood Pressure
The average BP in an adult is typically around 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). In this measurement, the numerator (120) indicates the systolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries during the contraction of the heart's ventricles as blood is expelled. The denominator (80) represents the...
01:17Measurement of Blood Pressure
01:28Factors affecting Blood pressure
Physiological Factors:
01:30Alterations in Blood Pressure
Hypertension (High blood pressure)
Hypertension occurs when blood pressure readings consistently exceed the normal range. It is diagnosed when systolic blood pressure (the top number, indicating pressure while the heart...
01:18Hypertension and Regulation of Blood Pressure