Childhood Course of Lung Function in Survivors of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
- Marco Filippone, MD;
- Gea Bonetto, MD;
- Emanuele Cherubin, MD;
- Silvia Carraro, MD;
- Eugenio Baraldi, MD baraldi@pediatria.unipd.itDepartment of PediatricsUniversity of Padua School of MedicinePadua, Italy
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA
- CHILDREN'S HEALTH
- INFANT, PREMATURE, DISEASES
- PREMATURE BIRTH
- PULMONARY DISEASE, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE
- RESPIRATORY FUNCTION TESTS
- RISK FACTORS
- SURVIVORS
To the Editor: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the primary respiratory complication of premature birth, associated with a reduced maximal lung function that may carry a risk of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)–like phenotype developing later in life.1 There is little prospective evidence about the evolution of lung function in long-term survivors of BPD.
Methods
This prospective study was performed between October 1992 and April 2008 with 17 survivors of BPD. Maximum flow at functional residual capacity (VmaxFRC) was measured at age 2 years2 and lung function at ages 93 and 15 years. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia was defined as oxygen dependence persisting at 28 days in infants born with a weight less than 1250 g.3
Two control groups matched for sex and age (within 6 months) comprised 34 healthy children born at term and 17 children born preterm without BPD who had spirometry performed at age 9 …
