Pulmonary function at follow-up of very preterm infants from the United Kingdom Oscillation Study

Prematurely born infants supported by conventional ventilation (CV) frequently have abnormal pulmonary function when assessed in childhood. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that infants who were randomly assigned to high-frequency oscillatory ventilation would have superior pulmonary function at follow-up compared with those who received CV (UK Oscillation Study). Infants from 12 trial centers were recruited for pulmonary function testing at a single center. Seventy-six infants, of a mean gestational age 26.4 weeks, were studied after sedation with chloral hydrate at between 11 and 14 months of age, corrected for prematurity. Infants assigned to CV had similar pulmonary function compared with those assigned to high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, with mean (SD) results as follows: functional residual capacity measured by whole-body plethysmography, 26.9 (6.3) versus 26.5 (6.4) ml/kg; functional residual capacity measured by helium dilution, 24.1 (5.4) versus 23.5 (5.7) ml/kg; inspiratory airway resistance, 3.3 (1.3) versus 3.4 (1.6) kPa (.) second (.) L; expiratory airway resistance, 4.4 (2.8) versus 4.1 (2.5) kPa (.) second (.) L; respiratory rate, 31.2 (6.0) versus 33.9 (8.0) breaths/minute. We conclude that early use of highfrequency oscillatory ventilation in very preterm infants appears to offer no advantage over CV in terms of pulmonary function at follow-up.