Abstract

Background:Respiratory distress syndrome is the chief reason of death in infants. Sustained lung inflation (SLI) may improve respiratory outcomes and reduce the demand for mechanical ventilation (MV). Given that only few studies have been done in this field so far, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of SLI on outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants. Materials and methods:This randomized trial was conducted on preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran, during 2018. Data were extracted from medical records. Infants born at 25-30 weeks of gestation were randomized into two groups with an equal number of subjects (n=30) in each one. In group 1 (cases), patients received SLI (25 cm H2O for 15 seconds) and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) (5 cm H2O) after oropharynx and nasal suction. In group 2 (controls), patients received only nCPAP (5 cm H2O). Both nCPAP and SLI and were delivered through a T-piece ventilator and neonatal mask. Results:In the current study, no serious differences were seen between case and control groups in terms of either quantitative parameters, including MV duration, Apgar score in the first minute, duration of oxygen therapy, gestational age, birth weight, nCPAP duration, and duration of hospitalization in NICU (P>0.05), or qualitative variables, including sex, pneumothorax rate, rate of intraventricular hemorrhage, need for mechanical ventilation during the first 72 hours of life, surfactant need, and mortality rate (p>0.05), except in cases of complications (p=0.019). Conclusions:According to the results of the current study, neither nCPAP alone, nor SLI and nCPAP had any effect on the duration, or need, or type of mechanical ventilation, while the incidence of complications in the nCPAP alone group (control group) was higher than that of combined nCPAP + SLI group (case group). It is suggested that future studies should be conducted on a larger sample size.