Pulmonary function at follow up of very preterm infants from the United Kingdom Oscillation Study

Thomas, M.R., Rafferty, G.F., Limb, E.S., Peacock, J.L., Calvert, S.A., Marlow, N., Milner, A.D. and Greenough, A. (2004) Pulmonary function at follow up of very preterm infants from the United Kingdom Oscillation Study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 169 (7), 868-872. (doi:10.1164/rccm.200310-1425OC).

Abstract

Prematurely born infants supported by conventional ventilation frequently have abnormal pulmonary function when assessed in childhood. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that infants who were randomly assigned to high frequency oscillatory ventilation would have superior pulmonary function at follow-up to those who received conventional ventilation (United Kingdom Oscillation Study). Infants from 12 trial centres were recruited for pulmonary function testing at a single centre. Seventy-six infants, of mean gestational age 26.4 weeks, were studied following sedation with chloral hydrate at between 11 and 14 months of age, corrected for prematurity. Infants assigned to conventional ventilation had similar pulmonary function to those assigned to high frequency oscillatory ventilation, with mean (SD) results as follows: functional residual capacity measured by whole body plethysmography 26.9 (6.3) vs. 26.5 (6.4) ml/kg; functional residual capacity measured by helium dilution 24.1 (5.4) vs. 23.5 (5.7) ml/kg; inspiratory airway resistance 3.3 (1.3) vs. 3.4 (1.6) kPa/(l/s); expiratory airway resistance 4.4 (2.8) vs. 4.1 (2.5) kPa/(l/s); respiratory rate 31.2 (6.0) vs. 33.9 (8.0) breaths/minute. We conclude that early use of high frequency oscillatory ventilation in very preterm infants appears to offer no advantage over conventional ventilation in terms of pulmonary function at follow-up

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