Effects of High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation With Volume Guarantee During Surfactant Treatment in Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns With Respiratory Distress Syndrome: An Observational Study

Respiratory Management of the Preterm Infant: Supporting Evidence-Based Practice at the Bedside

Extremely preterm infants frequently require some form of respiratory assistance to facilitate the cardiopulmonary transition that occurs in the first hours of life. Current resuscitation guidelines identify as a primary determinant of overall newborn survival the establishment, immediately after birth, of adequate lung inflation and ventilation to ensure an adequate functional residual capacity. Any respiratory support provided, however, is an important contributing factor to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The risks correlated to invasive ventilatory techniques increase inversely with gestational age. Preterm infants are born at an early stage of lung development and are more susceptible to lung injury deriving from mechanical ventilation. Any approach aiming to reduce the global burden of preterm lung disease must implement lung-protective ventilation strategies that begin from the newborn’s first breaths in the delivery room. Neonatologists today must be able to manage both invasive and noninvasive forms of respiratory assistance to treat a spectrum of lung diseases ranging from acute to chronic conditions. We searched PubMed for articles on preterm infant respiratory assistance. Our narrative review provides an evidence-based overview on the respiratory management of preterm infants, especially in the acute phase of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, starting from the delivery room and continuing in the neonatal intensive care unit, including a section regarding exogenous surfactant therapy.

Lung recruitment in neonatal high-frequency oscillatory ventilation with volume-guarantee

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The optimal lung volume strategy during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is reached by performing recruitment maneuvers, usually guided by the response in oxygenation. In animal models, secondary spontaneous change in oscillation pressure amplitude (ΔPhf) associated with a progressive increase in mean airway pressure during HFOV combined with volume guarantee (HFOV-VG) identifies optimal lung recruitment. The aim of this study was to describe recruitment maneuvers in HFOV-VG and analyze whether changes in ΔPhf might be an early predictor for lung recruitment in newborn infants with severe respiratory failure.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The prospective observational study was done in a tertiary-level neonatology department. Changes in ΔPhf were analyzed during standardized lung recruitment after initiating early rescue HFOV-VG in preterm infants with severe respiratory failure.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven patients were included, with a median gestational age of 24 weeks (interquartile range [IQR]: 23-25). Recruitment maneuvers were performed, median baseline mean airway pressure (mPaw) was 11 cm H₂ O (IQR: 10-13), median critical lung opening mPaw during recruitment was 14 cm H₂ O (IRQ: 12-16), and median optimal mPaw was 12 cm H₂ O (IQR: 10-14, p < 0.01). Recruitment maneuvers were associated with an improvement in oxygenation (FiO₂ : 65.0 vs. 45.0, p < 0.01, SpO2/FiO₂ ratio: 117 vs. 217, p < 0.01). ΔPhf decreased significantly after lung recruitment (mean amplitude: 23.0 vs. 16.0, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

In preterm infants with severe respiratory failure, the lung recruitment process can be effectively guided by ΔPhf on HFOV-VG.