Is there a relationship between neonatal ventilation and the development of childhood asthma in Barbadian children? - Poster abstract

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether infants given intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) has a higher incidence of asthma in the first 5 years of life, compared to children matched for birth weight but not given IPPV. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out on children of birth weight <2000 g born during 1994 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Hospital records of 58/77 admissions were analyzed for variables including gender, date of birth, birth weight, clinically assessed gestation, apgar scores, requirement for IPPV and a diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). In addition, parents or guardians were contacted by telephone and a simple questionnaire about asthma diagnosis was administered. RESULTS: Sixteen patients received IPPV in this group and 42 did not. Surfactant was not used during this period. Of those received IPPV, 9 (56 percent) had a diagnosis of asthma/wheeze compared to 10 (13 percent) of the control cohort (p<0.05). Possible confounders were identified birth weight, gestation, one-minute apgar score and a diagnosis of RDS (each pCONCLUSIONS: A strong correlation between the use of positive pressure ventilation and the subsequent development of asthma was confirmed in this study. However, since the study population was relatively small, further research is required to determine the extent to which other independent variables may also play a role.(AU)