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Lung function in infancy and childhood following neonatal intensive care
Insights
Neonatal intensive care survivors showed improved lung function, specifically airway conductance, into childhood. Residual abnormalities in prematurely born infants correlated with the intensity of neonatal respiratory support.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neonatology
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care can impact long-term respiratory health.
- Understanding the trajectory of lung function in survivors is crucial for clinical management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess long-term pulmonary function in neonatal intensive care survivors.
- To correlate lung function with the level of respiratory support received during the neonatal period.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal pulmonary function studies in 11 neonatal intensive care survivors.
- Comparison of lung function during infancy and childhood.
- Analysis of thoracic gas volume and specific airway conductance (SGaw).
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in thoracic gas volume and SGaw from infancy to childhood.
- Abnormalities in SGaw were observed exclusively in infants who required ventilation.
- A negative correlation existed between neonatal treatment scores and SGaw in both infancy and childhood.
Conclusions:
- Moderately affected infants demonstrate long-term improvement in airway conductance.
- Mild hyperinflation in childhood may indicate residual small airway abnormalities.
- Prematurely born infants' residual lung abnormalities are proportional to the intensity of neonatal treatment.
Abstract:
Pulmonary function studies were performed in 11 neonatal intensive care survivors both during infancy and later in childhood. Lung function was compared with the respiratory support given in the neonatal period. The mean +/- SE thoracic gas volume was 96 +/- 4% predicted in infancy and rose to 122 +/- 8% predicted during childhood (P less than 0.005). The specific airway conductance (SGaw) in infancy was 57 +/- 7% predicted and rose to 90 +/- 8% predicted in childhood (P less than 0.0025). Abnormalities in SGaw were found only in ventilated infants, and there was a negative logarithmic correlation between the treatment score in the neonatal period and the SGaw in both infancy and childhood. The data indicate a long-term improvement in airway conductance of moderately affected infants with the development of mild hyperinflation in childhood possibly resulting from residual small airway abnormalities despite a symptomless clinical course. The residual abnormalities in prematurely born infants were in proportion to the intensity of treatment required in the neonatal period.