

The two components attach to form a unit, which after fixing of the ET tube, were attached between the ET tube and the pressure-generating device to measure the TV (Fig. It has two attachments: a disposable flow sensor which measures the flow and TV, and a Capnostat-5 sensor, which is a carbon dioxide sensor.
Calculating tidal volume full#
The RFM used was Respironics NM3 monitor (Philips Healthcare, Eindhoven, Netherlands), which is a portable device, weighs 4.38 kg with dimensions of 21 cm × 29.2 cm × 23.5 cm (height × wide × depth) with an internal battery which can last up to 45 min on a full charge ( ).
Calculating tidal volume series#
We used a respiratory function monitor (RFM) with a flow sensor placed in series between the ETT and pressure-generating device (T-piece resuscitator) to measure the breath-to-breath TV. Being a feasibility study, a convenience sample of ten consecutive patients was chosen. All preterm infants born <32 weeks GA at Baystate Medical Center, a regional perinatal referral center with a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), without known significant cardio-respiratory anomalies and requiring PPV via an ETT in the DR were included in the study. This study was a prospective, observational, non-interventional feasibility study.

Our specific objectives were to assess the percentage of times the resuscitating team had all the equipment ready in DR to measure TV, and to measure the infant’s TV when receiving PLV in the DR through an endotracheal tube (ETT). We hypothesized that measurement of TV in intubated preterm infants <32 weeks in the DR is feasible, and that the TV generated via PLV in the immediate neonatal transition phase will be highly variable. No study has specifically evaluated and reported the ability to measure TV provided in intubated preterm infants in the DR. The risk of lung injury is likely related to the magnitude of the volutrauma at birth, and therefore ventilation immediately after birth needs to be very gentle.

Several studies have demonstrated that PPV with TV more than 8 ml per kg causes lung inflammation and lung injury, and may also result in brain inflammation and injury. Ventilation with large breaths may cause gross overexpansion of regions that are forced open, resulting in epithelial and microvascular injury with subsequent pulmonary edema, making the lung parenchyma more susceptible to volutrauma during conventional mechanical ventilation. A study in preterm lambs reported as few as six large TV breaths at birth can lead to acute lung injury and blunt the effect of subsequent surfactant treatment. Large TV can lead to volutrauma and/or barotrauma with negative outcomes. Reports suggest that PL resuscitation devices routinely used in the DR can triple the intended TV during PPV in a newborn manikin. With rapidly changing pulmonary compliance, PLV can lead to significant variability in the delivered TV. Preterm lungs have highly variable lung compliance due to low surfactant production, variable chest wall compliance and need for positive pressure ventilation (PPV) leading to rapid fluid shifts in the immediate newborn period. Clinicians often rely on chest expansion as a surrogate measure for delivered TV, which is known to be a poor indicator of TV, and many infants can receive inappropriate TV within minutes of birth leading to either barotrauma, volutrauma, and/or atelectotrauma. Clinicians provide pressure-limited ventilation (PLV) using either a self-inflating bag or a T-piece resuscitator, where the provider regulates the inflation pressure and inflation time, but not the TV. Ĭurrent DR resuscitation focuses on pressure-limited (PL) devices that lack the ability to measure delivered tidal volume (TV). Delivery room (DR) management of preterm infants during the initial resuscitation has a significant impact on development of BPD, and non-invasive respiratory support and lower oxygen concentration during resuscitation have been shown to be associated with improved outcomes. The pathogenesis of BPD is multifactorial with lung injury from mechanical ventilation, oxygen toxicity, and antenatal or postnatal infections all playing a key role. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is one of the most common morbidity associated with preterm birth, with ~35% incidence in extremely low gestational age (GA) infants.
