Six years of experience with the use of room air for the resuscitation of asphyxiated newly born term infants.

In the last 6 years, 830 asphyxiated newly born term infants have been resuscitated with room air (RAR; n = 304) or 100% oxygen (OxR; n = 526) in our hospital. We have studied the time to onset of a regular respiratory pattern, morbidity and mortality, blood gases, reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidised glutathione (GSSG) and antioxidant enzymes in these infants. No significant differences in the effectiveness of either gas sources or in the final outcome have been found. The RAR group required a shorter time of positive pressure ventilation to attain a spontaneous pattern of respiration. The OxR group showed hyperoxaemia during resuscitation, which was positively correlated with increased GSSG concentrations. Significant oxidative stress was found in the OxR group at 28 days of postnatal life when compared with normal control infants and the RAR group. Oxygen concentrations used during the resuscitation of newly born infants should be strictly monitored.