Development of Ventilatory Response to Transient Hypercapnia and Hypercapnic Hypoxia in Term Infants

Whereas peripheral chemoreceptor oxygen sensitivity increases markedly after birth, previous studies of ventilatory responses to CO2 in term infants have shown no postnatal development. However, the hypercapnic challenges applied have usually been long-term, which meant that the effect of central chemoreceptors dominated. Oscillatory breathing, apneas, and sighs cause transient Pco2 changes, probably primarily stimulating peripheral chemoreceptors. We wanted to assess whether the immediate ventilatory responses to step changes in inspired CO2 and O2 in term infants undergo postnatal developmental changes. Twenty-six healthy term infants were studied during natural sleep 2 d and 8 wk postnatally. Ventilatory responses to a randomized sequence of 15 s hypercapnia (3% CO2), hypoxia (15% O2), and hypercapnic hypoxia (3% CO2 + 15% O2) were recorded breath-by-breath using a pneumotachometer. Response rate, stimulus-response time, and response magnitude were analyzed with ANOVA after coherent averaging. Response rate increased with age by 30% (hypercapnia), 318% (hypoxia), and 302% (hypercapnic hypoxia). Response rate during hypercapnic hypoxia exceeded rate during hypercapnia plus rate during hypoxia in wk 8, but not on d 2. Time to half-maximum response decreased by 3.4 s with age for the two hypercapnic stimuli but was unchanged for hypoxia. Response magnitude was unchanged for hypercapnia, but increased for the two hypoxic stimuli. In conclusion, an interaction between the effects of hypercapnia and hypoxia on ventilatory response rate emerged between postnatal d 2 and wk 8 in term infants. Concomitantly, stimulus-response time to hypercapnic stimuli declined markedly. The development of a prompt response to transient hypercapnia may be important for infant respiratory stability.