Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Abstract

The term bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has been used to encompass all infants who are oxygen dependent at 28 days of age in association with an abnormal chest radiograph appearance. As many affected infants are born at very early gestations, it is not unexpected that they should remain oxygen dependent for the first few weeks after birth. As a consequence, some authors have used an alternative criteria to diagnose BPD, that is oxygen dependence at a postconceptional age of 36 weeks.11 Some135 had suggested that the diagnosis of BPD should only be made in infants with severe disease and who fulfilled the historical Northway criteria (Figures 29.1, 29.2, 29.3).135