Effect of a new respiratory care bundle on bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm neonates

The development of devices that can fix the tidal volume in high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) has allowed for a significant improvement in the management of HFOV. At our institution, this had led to the earlier use of HFOV and promoted a change in the treatment strategy involving the use of higher frequencies (above 15 Hz) and lower high-frequency tidal volumes (VThf). The purpose of this observational study was to assess how survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia grades 2 and 3 (SF-BPD) is influenced by these modifications in the respiratory strategy applied to preterm infants (gestational age < 32 weeks at birth) who required mechanical ventilation (MV) in the first 3 days of life. We compared a baseline period (2012–2013) against a period in which this strategy had been fully implemented (2016–2017). A total of 182 patients were exposed to MV in the first 3 days of life being a higher proportion on HFOV at day 3 in the second period 79.5% (n 35) in 2016–2017 vs 55.4% (n 31) in 2012–2013. After adjusting for perinatal risk factors, the second period is associated with an increased rate of SF-BPD (OR 2.28; CI 95% 1.072–4.878); this effect is more evident in neonates born at a gestational age of less than 29 weeks (OR 4.87; 95% CI 1.9–12.48). Conclusions : The early use of HFOV combined with the use of higher frequencies and very low VT was associated with an increase in the study population’s SF-BPD.