INTRODUCTION
Invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) remains a widely used respiratory support for the sickest very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. However, prolonged exposure to this invasive treatment can be associated with adverse outcomes. It is essential to establish the factors which influence the duration of MV. The study aimed to determine the factors affecting the duration of MV in VLBW infants.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data obtained from a prospectively created computer database were used in a retrospective cohort study. The database included information about 1,086 VLBW infants < 32 weeks of gestation who were intubated and mechanically ventilated at any time during their hospital stay at Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital between January 2010 and December 2020.
RESULTS
The infants had a mean (SD) gestational age of 27.6 (2.2) weeks and birth weight of 1,007 (262) g. 43% of them were delivered by cesarean section, 26% from multiple pregnancies, 58% were intubated and ventilated at birth, and 49% were treated with surfactant. Severe intraventricular hemorrhages (IVH) occurred in 179 (16%), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in 60 (6%), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in 135 (12%), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in 41 (4%) infants. In 49 (5%) cases, the BPD was severe. 678 (62%) patients survived until discharge. The median (IQR) duration of endotracheal MV was 47 (10-103) hours. BPD (rS = 0.32, p < 0.05), severe BPD (rS = 0.418, p < 0.05), pneumothorax (rS = 0.06, p = 0.05), severe IVH (rS = 0.255, p < 0.05), PVL (rS = 0.15, p < 0.05), sepsis (rS = 0.087, p < 0.05), NEC (rS = 0.088, p < 0.05), antibiotic therapy duration (rS = 0.168, p < 0.05), and smaller gestational age (rS = -0.118, p < 0.05) were reliably associated with longer duration of MV in VLBW infants.
Based on a one-way analysis of covariance, only severe BPD (F = 20.898, p < 0.0001) and PVL (F = 5.989, p < 0.05) significantly and independently increased the duration of MV.
CONCLUSIONS
Severe lung injury and brain injury are the main factors affecting the duration of MV in our 10-year cohort of VLBW infants.