[Efficacy and limits of rescue high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in the treatment of hyaline membrane disease in preterm newborns].

UNLABELLED

Conflicting reports of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) use as an alternative to conventional mechanical ventilation have been published. This retrospective study has evaluated the efficacy and safety of rescue HFOV in preterm infants with severe hyaline membrane disease (HMD) after the failure of conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV).

POPULATION AND METHODS

All newborns hospitalized in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from 10.1.1993 to 15.4.1995 with CMV failure, defined as the need for more than 55% FiO2 without any improvement for at least six hours, have been retrospectively studied. The infants were shared according to the absence (Gr I) or the presence (Gr II) of persistent pulmonary hypertension of neonate (PPHN) in addition to HMD before HFOV.

RESULTS

Gestational age (GA) was 29.2 +/- 3.7 weeks (mean +/- SD) in Gr I and 30.3 +/- 2.8 in Gr II. Birth weight was 1379 +/- 750 g and 1471 +/- 612 g, respectively. As soon as three hours after the onset of HFOV in both groups, a dramatic improvement was observed with a FiO2 drop from 82 +/- 20% to 64.8 +/- 25.5% (P < 0.01). Among the infants, 62% survived without any major disability and 28% died (46% in Gr II vs 12% in Gr I, P < 0.01). A trend towards a worsening of pre-existing brain lesions has been noticed. An increased risk of mortality was observed when a secondary worsening in O2 requirements occurred 24 hours after the onset of HFOV, despite an initial significant improvement. SGA was also associated with a poor prognosis (46% of the deaths vs 29% for AGA infants, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

HFOV has been successfully used in premature infants with severe respiratory disease and failure of CMV. Criteria of poor prognosis were PPHN and SGA, or a secondary worsening in oxygen requirements after initial improvement. A trend towards aggravation of pre-existing brain lesions has been noticed after HFOV. This aggravation is more frequent when PPHN is associated with HMD. This observation suggests caution for HFOV use when these conditions are present in premature infants.