Aim: Current evidence suggests that nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) as a primary treatment for RDS reduces the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) comparing with nasal continuous airway pressure (NCPAP). We aimed to evaluate whether very early surfactant treatment decreases the need for MV when used in premature infants treated with early NIPPV soon after birth.
Methods: The inclusion criteria of this prospective cohort study were a gestational age of 24-31(6/7) weeks and supplemental oxygen with the evidence of labored breathing within 60 min. Infants were stabilized on NCPAP and then continued with NIPPV, following early surfactant treatment, or were only put on NIPPV. Thirty infants in the NIPPV group and 29 infants in the NIPPV + SURFACTANT group met the inclusion criteria. Primary end-point was the need of MV in the first 72 h of life according to the predefined criteria.
Results: The failure rate was significantly lower in the NIPPV + SURFACTANT group compared with the NIPPV group (37.9% and 66.7% respectively, p < 0.05). All other results, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia and death, were similar between the groups.
Conclusion: NIPPV failure was significantly lower when combined with surfactant treatment, which indicates the critical role of early surfactant treatment in reducing the need for invasive ventilation.
Keywords: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; NIPPV; preterm; respiratory distress syndrome; surfactant.