BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is evidence that new methods of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) support have significantly changed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) management in preterm infants. Further perspectives for neonatologists involve the assessment of different NIV strategies in terms of availability, effectiveness, and failure. This study evaluates the efficacy of 2 different NIV str...

OBJECTIVE The Cox model is the dominant tool in clinical trials to compare treatment options. This model does not specify any specific form to the hazard function. On the other hand, parametric models allow the researcher to consider an appropriate shape of hazard function for the event of interest. The aim of this article is to compare performance of Cox and parametric models. METHODS We use...

BACKGROUND Nasal mask discomfort is a major factor in compliance with treatment by nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). METHODS A study of skin complications resulting from mask usage, with particular reference to predisposing factors, was carried out in 66 patients by means of a postal questionnaire. An effective means...

A newborn baby receiving mechanical ventilation was noted to have an extremely variable degree of hypoxia, despite the administration of 100% oxygen. The hypoxia was relieved rapidly when mechanical ventilation was withdrawn.

Cardioventilatory coupling (CVC) is the temporal coherence of respiratory and cardiac rhythms. We have suggested that this coherence is the result of triggering of inspiratory onset by a preceding cardiovascular afferent. One implication of this triggering hypothesis is that coupling should only exist under conditions of spontaneous ventilation and not under conditions where the ventilatory per...

I read with great interest the article by Raman et al 1 in a recent issue of CHEST (February 2015) that evaluated the pressure tolerance of esophagectomy anastomosis ex vivo and in vivo in a pig model in comparison with esophageal pressure during noninvasive positivepressure ventilation (NPPV). Th e authors showed that anastomosis can tolerate higher pressures than those transmitted to the esop...

Bilateral diaphragm paralysis is a rare but important complication of open heart surgery. Two cases were found among 360 prospectively studied patients undergoing open heart surgery during one year. Both patients had insulin dependent diabetes with peripheral neuropathy and this may have contributed to their diaphragm paralysis. The patients were studied postoperatively for one year with measur...

At present, exogenous surfactant replacement therapy and mechanical ventilation (MV) remain the ‘Standard of Care’ while treating such infants. However, this requires endotracheal intubation – an invasive procedure associated with complications. Moreover, the skills required to intubate very small babies are not universally available and may vary among the healthcare professionals even in devel...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of Nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) and Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in neonates. METHODS Standard search strategy for the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group was performed. The participants were both preterm and term infants suffering from neonatal respiratory distress syndrome or experiencing apnea of prema...

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), also known as chronic lung disease (CLD), is the most common serious morbidity associated with premature birth, particularly among those infants who have respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and receive mechanical ventilation after birth. BPD is characterized by lung inflammation and scarring, which are thought to be the effects of excessive (or inadequate) vent...