Early Prediction of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Premature Infants less than 34 Weeks of Gestational Age

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: A variety of postnatal therapies have been and will be evaluated for prevention or treatment of neonatal chronic lung disease. A simple method for early selection of the highest risk infants would optimize intervention trials. The purpose of this study was to develop an scoring system to predict the bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of clinical, respiratory and radiographic variables of a 2.5-year experience was done with data of preterm infants less than 34 weeks of gestation admitted to Ewha Womans University Hospital from January 1998 to July 2000. RESULTS: Multiple regression analysis identified four independent predictors of BPD; longer duration of assisted ventilation, lower Apgar score at 5 minute, higher PaCO2 at birth, presence of patent ductus arteriosus after 7 days. A clinical predictive scoring system (CPSS) was developed with these four predictors. CONCLUSION: We have come up with a CPSS for early identification of preterm infants with high risk of BPD. A prospective study is on going to evaluate the predictivity of this scoring system.