Abstract
Previous results indicate that the Hering Breuer reflex is active in newborn infants and increases the stability of their tidal volume when faced with elastic loads. However, no information is available in infants of less than 30 weeks GA during the first days of life. Inspiratory time before (ti) and during (ti occ) airway occlusion, as well as effective elastance (E'rs) were determined in 3 groups of infants. Group 1 consisted of 5 infants of 28.4 wks. gestation and 3.2 days of age, group 2 of 8 neonates of the same gestational age and 16 days of age and group 3 of 16 full term newborns of 2 days postnatal age.
The results show absence of the Hering Breuer reflex in the very premature infant shortly after birth. After the second week of life the reflex is present but not as active as in the full term newborn. The increase in strength of the reflex with age is also reflected in the increase in E'rs if this value is related to body weight. It appears that the Hering Breuer Reflex matures with gestational age in utero as well as extra utero if the infant is born prematurely. The immaturity of the reflex in the very premature infant may be another factor related to the frequently observed respiratory failure in this age group.
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Gerhardt, T., Bancalari, E. STRENGTH OF THE HERING BREUER REFLEX IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LIFE IN PREMATURE AND FULL TERM INFANTS. Pediatr Res 11, 533 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00980
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00980