[Image from Cleveland Clinic]
6. Bubble CPAP for increased lung function in premature babies
Babies who are born prematurely often require specialized care, including ventilation for infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS).
Infants with IRDS are commonly administered surfactant during mechanical ventilation, which can cause lasting lung injury in preterm infants and contribute to the development of chronic lung disease.
“For the longest time, we used to intubate these babies and put them on ventilators in order to support their breathing. However, we discovered that the damages due to ventilators are actually causing harm to these babies and a significant number of these babies will end up having chronic lung disease,” Dr. Hany Aly, Cleveland Clinic neonatology department chair, said at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit.
However, b-CPAP is a non-invasive ventilation strategy that delivers continuous positive airway pressure to newborns to maintain lung volumes during exhalation. The oscillating effects minimize physical trauma and stimulate lung growth when administered over a prolonged period.
“I see it will take some time (to become the gold standard). However, there are studies that are starting to show that it is efficacious and reproducible. We are now receiving more and more requests from different neonatal units that are trying to reproduce the same thing,” Aly said.
