ABSTRACT
The advances in neonatal intensive care over the past 20 years have greatly improved survival rates for all premature infants and, in particular, for infants of very low birth weight. A remaining problem, in part owing to our successes in lowering the age limits of viability, is the continuing occurrence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. The incidence of BPD in infants less than 1500-g birth weight ranges from 25 to 40% in the United States, with a proportion of these infants acquiring a severe form of BPD that continues for many months or years and results in death or substantial disability associated with poor long-term neurodevelopmental outcome. A source of frustration for clinicians is the known contribution of hyperoxia and mechanical ventilation to the etiology of BPD, yet these supportive approaches are necessary for survival of infants with newborn lung disease.
