Forced oscillation technique for optimising PEEP in ventilated extremely preterm infants

Abstract

Ventilatory settings are critical in mechanically ventilated extremely preterm newborn infants due to the risk of ventilation induced lung injury (VILI) and subsequent development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) [1]. The positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) settings usually rely on blood gases, oxygen requirement, lung auscultation, evaluation of chest radiograph, and assessment of pressure-volume curves provided by the ventilators. Studies of optimal PEEP settings in the surfactant treated preterm infant in need of mechanical ventilation are limited and evidence based clinical guidelines are sparse [2, 3].