Prone positioning decreases episodes of hypoxemia in extremely low birth weight infants (1000 grams or less) with chronic lung disease.

Extremely low birth weight infants with chronic lung disease (CLD) have frequent episodes of desaturation (hypoxemia). We quantified oxygenation and episodes of hypoxemia in 55 infants (birth weight < or = 1000 gm) with CLD in the supine versus prone position, for 1-hour time intervals. Oxygen saturation was measured with the Nellcor N-200 pulse oximeter and a computer program. Prone positioning increased oxygen saturation from 92.0% to 94.1% (p < 0.001) and significantly decreased episodes of hypoxemia to oxygen saturation levels of less than 90%, 85%, and 80% (p < 0.001). Our findings support prone positioning for the extremely low birth weight infant with CLD in an intensive care setting.