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A comparison of bilevel and ventilator-delivered non-invasive respiratory support

Millar D, Lemyre B, Kirpalani H, Chiu A, Yoder BA, Roberts RS

Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition, 2016

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the rates of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in infants who received nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) delivered by a conventional mechanical ventilator (CMV) or a bilevel device.

DESIGN: A preplanned non-randomised comparison of infants randomised to the NIPPV arm of the NIPPV trial.

SETTING: Thirty-six tertiary neonatal units in three continents.

PATIENTS: Infants <1000 g and <30 weeks gestational age at birth.

INTERVENTIONS: Infants received treatment with CMV NIPPV or bilevel NIPPV, as a primary mode of respiratory support or following first extubation.

RESULTS: 241 received mainly bilevel NIPPV and 215 mainly CMV NIPPV. No difference was found in death or BPD at 36 weeks corrected age (adjusted OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.57 to 1.35)). More deaths occurred in infants receiving bilevel NIPPV (9.4%) than in CMV NIPPV (2.3%) (adjusted OR 5.01: 95% CI 1.74 to 14.4). There was a corresponding but not statistically significant decrease in BPD in the bilevel NIPPV group (30% vs 37%) (adjusted OR 0.64 (95% CI 0.41 to 1.02)). No difference was observed in extubation failure or age at last extubation. A post hoc test of interaction between device type and synchronisation was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: We did not observe a statistically significant difference in the composite outcome of death or BPD between infants who received mostly bilevel NIPPV compared with mostly CMV NIPPV. Differences in component outcomes of…

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