CHOP Research Studies Prevention of Lung Injury in Premature Babies
Published on in CHOP News
CHOP neonatologist Haresh Kirpalani, MD, is the senior author of a new study that found that current non-invasive techniques for respiratory support are less effective than widely assumed, in preventing severe lung injury in very premature infants. Neonatologists commonly use non-invasive nasal ventilation instead of mechanical ventilation via a breathing tube, in hopes of preventing avoiding bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The study, published on Aug. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine, points to the need to develop more effective therapies to prevent BPD — scarring and inflammation of the lungs — a leading cause of death or neurological injury in extremely-low-birth-weight infants.