ABSTRACT
Improvements in neonatal care have changed the nature and epidemiology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) over the last four decades, but pulmonary hypertension (PH) continues to contribute significantly to high morbidity and mortality of premature infants. Past clinical studies demonstrated that early elevations of pulmonary artery pressure are associated with an increased risk for the development of BPD (1,2), and that sustained PH beyond three months of age is related to high mortality (40%) (3). Despite striking therapeutic advances throughout the “post-surfactant era,” late PH continues to be strongly linked with poor survival, with a recent report suggesting mortality rates of nearly 70% for infants with severe PH (4).
