ABSTRACT
Approximately 5"–18" of babies are born preterm worldwide. Preterm infants can experience difficulties affecting all body systems at various stages during their stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The most common respiratory disorder that preterm infants experience is respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). RDS is caused by the combination of structural lung immaturity and a deficiency in the production and function of surfactant in the preterm lung. Pneumothoraces in preterm infants are associated with increased mortality and severity of lung disease along with other long-term morbidities. Pulmonary hemorrhage—bleeding directly into the lung parenchyma—is reported in 3"—7" of preterm infants with RDS and is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Similar to infants born at term, preterm infants are at risk of congenital structural cardiac defects. Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are caused by bleeding from the germinal matrix, the small network of capillaries around the caudate nucleus of the immature brain, into the surrounding ventricular system.
