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Response to bronchodilators in clinically stable 1-year-old patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

K De Boeck1, J Smith, S Van Lierde

  • 1University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Department of Pediatrics, Leuven, Belgium.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|February 14, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Bronchodilators like salbutamol and ipratropium are not routinely recommended for stable bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) patients at one year old. While some individual BPD patients may show improvement, group data did not support their efficacy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Neonatology
  • Respiratory Medicine

Background:

  • Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease in infants.
  • Bronchodilator use in stable BPD beyond the newborn period is not well-studied.
  • Evaluating long-term BPD treatment efficacy is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the efficacy of bronchodilators in patients with stable bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at one year of corrected postnatal age.
  • To measure pulmonary function changes after salbutamol and ipratropium bromide administration in BPD patients.

Main Methods:

  • Pulmonary function tests were conducted on 52 infants (22 with BPD) at 52 weeks corrected age.
  • Measurements were taken before and after aerosolized salbutamol and ipratropium bromide.
  • The PEDS system was used for pulmonary function assessment under sedation.

Main Results:

  • BPD patients exhibited significantly higher expiratory and inspiratory resistance at one year.
  • Half of the BPD patients experienced a decrease in pulmonary resistance after salbutamol.
  • No significant group decrease in pulmonary resistance was observed after salbutamol or ipratropium in BPD patients.
  • Pulmonary resistance worsened in non-BPD patients after salbutamol.

Conclusions:

  • Routine bronchodilator administration is not justified for stable BPD patients at one year of age.
  • Individualized patient responses may vary, but group efficacy is not demonstrated.
  • Further research may explore specific BPD phenotypes that could benefit from bronchodilators.
Abstract

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