[Clinical experience with the use of continuous positive airway pressure delivered by the nasal route (N-CPAP) (author's transl)].

The nasal CPAP modification of spontaneous positive pressure breathing is technically simple, non-invasive for the patient, and does not interfere with routine infant care, yet provides most of the advantages of other CPAP modifications. Endotracheal intubation is eliminated since airway pressure is delivered by two short canules attached by means of adhesive tape to the patient's nose. The CPAP system was used in the care of 35 newborns and premature infants admitted to the University Children's Clinic Graz, with the diagnosis of respiratory distress (31 cases) or apnea-syndrome (4 cases) between Sept. 1973 and July 1975. The indications for the use of this system was based on the arterial oxygen tension values while breathing 100% O2 for 15 min. 22 of the 28 patients surviving were treated with N-CPAP alone, whereas 13 patients were CPAP-failures and required further ventilation (IPPV,PEEP). In the latter group apnea and 2 cases of pneumothorax necessitated intubation and ventilation, rather than the respiratory distress for which they had been initially treated. All 7 patients who died during this study were from this group of N-CPAP-failures (20% of the total, 54% of all N-CPAP-failures). Keeping ambient oxygen concentrations constant, an increase in arterial oxygen tension was measured in almost all patients surviving on N-CPAP and was initially even seen in those who later died, so that the ambient oxygen concentration could eventually be decreased.