Early Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy for Premature Neonates with Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Objective: To determine the outcome of preterm neonates with the early introduction of bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Methodology: This observational study was conducted in NICU of Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from March 2017 to August 2017. Ninety preterm infants were enrolled with a gestational age of 28 to 37 weeks and with the clinical features of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). Infant variables that were recorded were birth weight, gestational age, and severity of RDS and Fio2 requirement. Bubble CPAP was started at 5cm of water and FiO2 adjusted to maintain SpO2 of 87 to 95%. The SPSS 26 version was used to analyze data. The Chi square test was used, with a P value of <0.05 considered significant. Results: The study included 90 neonates who were clinically diagnosed with RDS. To treat RDS, CPAP was started at the mean age of 5.27 hours of life with a standard deviation of 2.66 hours. 11 out of 90 (11.22%) babies had chest X-ray findings in favor of severe RDS; while X-rays of the remaining 79 (88.78%) showed mild to moderate RDS. Conclusion: CPAP is of valuable importance in low resource countries with a lack of ventilators and provides an adequate and conservative treatment method of mild to moderate RDS for preterm neonates. However, in cases of severe RDS, intubation and mechanical ventilation are often necessary.