Abstract
In 3 infants (birthweight 920, 1720 and 2030 g) with clinical and radiologic BPD, minute volume (VE), lung compliance CL (ml/cm H2O/kg), pulmonary resistance RL (cm H2O/L/sec) and blood gases were measured repeatedly during the first eight weeks of life. All had severe respiratory distress syndrome at birth and they were treated with high O2 and assisted ventilation for varying periods of time. Two infants remained O2 dependent until death at 4 and 11 wks. of age, and the survivor until 4 months of age. The mean of the measurements in each infant was significantly below normal for CL/kg, 0.3, 0.4, and 1.1 respectively and significantly increased for RL at mid-inspiration 107, 81 and 52, at mid-expiration 190, 218, 247, and mean RL 143, 158, 109 respectively. VE was increased (720 ml/min). Arterial blood gases showed hypoxia and hypercarbia reflecting the infants' clinical condition. A large portion of the abnormalities could be explained by an extreme loss of lung volume (atelectasis) and lung fibrosis. This was confirmed by necropsy in 2 cases. The two most severely ill infants had persistently low lung compliance and succumbed due to intractable lung damage.
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Branca, P., Chen, J., Polgar, G. et al. EARLY PULMONARY FUNCTION STUDIES OF INFANTS WITH BRONCHO-PULMONARY DYSPLASIA (BPD). Pediatr Res 8, 465 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00749
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00749