FEATURES OF RESPIRATORY SUPPORT IN INFANTS WITH SEVERE BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA

Improved survival rates for extremely preterm infants have not reduced the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is still diagnosed in a significant proportion of these infants. Despite the availability of several effective methods for preventing this disease, some of these infants develop severe forms of BPD, and such infants may require prolonged endotracheal mechanical ventilation. In recent years, the focus of researchers and clinicians has been on the prevention of BPD, and the management of patients with established severe disease has been largely empirical. This review presents a modern concept of a physiologically based strategy for mechanical ventilation in infants with an established diagnosis of severe BPD, which differs from the approaches traditionally used in the management of respiratory distress syndrome. Care for infants with severe BPD requires a chronic disease model and a different focus of intervention than the standard approaches that are typically used in neonatal intensive care units for patients with acute conditions.