Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be the most common and most important complication in preterm infants with RDS. The incidence varies from 20 to 60 % in preterm infants whose weight are < 1500 gram. The presence of BPD is often associated with significant mortality and short term and long term morbidity, including growth failure and neurodevelopment delay. The exact mechanism and pathogenesis of BPD is not completely understood. However, epidemiology study suggests a changing prevalence and clinical features in recent years. The traditional descriptions of BPD (so call classic or old BPD) are essentially related to lung injuries following mechanical ventilation while the recent description of BPD (new BPD) is probably related more to prematurity of the lungs. The relation between these two types of BPD is not clear. Recent studies indicated that inflammation may play an important role for both the classic and new BPD. Once lung injuries have established, managements are essentially supportive, therefore every effort should be focus on prevention. Proper respiratory care is the most essential in preventing lung injury. Other medications, either to improve the pulmonary function or to reduce the lung inflammation, have been tried with various successes. There is no magic bullet to cure the disease.