Abstract:

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) with different positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) levels on recurrent apnea in premature infants. Methods NCPAP treatment was performed on 76 infants with recurrent apnea after birth and gestational age ≤34 weeks. Patients were divided into low PEEP group (PEEP 2-3 cmH2O), medium PEEP group (PEEP 4-6 cmH2O) and high PEEP group (PEEP 7-8 cmH2O). The therapeutic effects and prevalences of complications were compared among groups.Results Sixty-five out of 76 patients entered statistical analysis. The therapeutic effects of low PEEP group, medium PEEP group and high PEEP group were 57.1%, 92.3% and 91.7%, respectively, and the percentages of mechanical ventilation with tracheal intubation were 42.9%, 7.7% and 8.3%, respectively. The therapeutic effects were significantly higher and the percentages of mechanical ventilation with tracheal intubation were significantly lower in high PEEP group and medium PEEP group than in low PEEP group (P<0.05). The prevalence of air leak in high PEEP group was 33.3%, and was significantly higher than those of low PEEP group (0%) and medium PEEP group (7.7%) (P<0.05). Conclusion At PEEP of 4-6 cm H2O, NCPAP treatment may yield favorable therapeutic effects with lower prevalence of complications on recurrent apnea in premature infants.

Key words: nasal continuous positive airway pressure, positive end expiratory pressure, premature infants, apnea