Impact of implementation of 2019 European respiratory distress syndrome guidelines on bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants

To evaluate the impact of implementation of 2019 European respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) guidelines on the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We retrospectively collected the clinical data of very preterm infants (VPIs) born before 32 gestational weeks from January 1st 2018 to December 31st 2021. VPIs were divided into group A and group B according to their birth date which was before or at/after January 1st 2020, when the 2019 European RDS guidelines were introduced. BPD is considered as primary outcome. We statistically analyzed all the data, and we compared the general characteristics, ventilation support, medication, nutrition and the outcomes between the two groups. A total of 593 VPIs were enrolled, including 380 cases in group A and 213 cases in group B. There were no statistic differences regarding to gender ratio, gestational age, birth weight and delivery mode between the two groups. Compared with group A, group B showed higher rate of antenatal corticosteroid therapy (75.1% vs. 65.5%). The improvement of ventilation management in these latter patients included lower rate of invasive ventilation (40.4% vs. 50.0%), higher rate of volume guarantee (69.8% vs. 15.3%), higher positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) [6 (5, 6) vs. 5 (5, 5) cmH2O] and higher rate of synchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (sNIPPV) (36.2% vs. 5.6%). Compared with group A, group B received higher initial dose of pulmonary surfactant [200 (160, 200) vs. 170 (130, 200) mg/Kg], shorter antibiotic exposure time [13 (7, 23) vs. 17 (9, 33) days], more breast milk (86.4% vs. 70.3%) and earlier medication for hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) treatment [3 (3, 4) vs. 8 (4, 11) days] (p < 0.05). As the primary outcome, the incidence of BPD was significantly decreased (16.9% vs. 24.2%) (p < 0.05), along with lower extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) rate (39.0% vs. 59.7%), while there were no statistic differences regarding to other secondary outcomes, including mortality, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), retinopathy of preterm (ROP) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). However, in the subgroups of infants less than 28 gestational weeks or infants less than 1,000 g, the incidence of BPD was not significantly decreased (p > 0.05). After implementation of 2019 European RDS guidelines, the overall incidence of BPD was significantly decreased in VPIs. Continuous quality improvement is still needed in order to decrease the incidence of BPD in smaller infants who are less than 28 gestational weeks or less than 1,000 g.