Infants after artificial lung ventilation. New approaches to rehabilitation

Objective. To improve rehabilitation of infants who received respiratory support at birth. Patients and methods. This prospective comparative study was conducted in the Children's City Polyclinic No 13 of Yekaterinburg and included 131 infants who received different types of artificial lung ventilation (ALV) for some respiratory disorders. All patients were followed up by a pediatrician, neurologist, pulmonologist, and an infectious disease specialist; all of them received appropriate therapy. The experimental group comprised 99 infants who additionally received a course of osteopathic (manual) correction for 8–10 weeks, whereas the control group included 32 infants who received standard therapy only. Patients in the experimental and control groups were matched for all parameters. In addition to chest X-ray, all study participants underwent an assessment of their neurological, somatic, and biomechanical statuses. Osteopathic treatment (4 to 6 sessions lasting 30–40 minutes each) was performed by one osteopathic doctor. Statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS Statistics.26 software; we calculated Pearson's linear correlation coefficient and used Fisher's exact test and McNemar's test. Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results. Seventy-nine infants (79.8%) initially had both neurological and somatic disorders. Ten patients (10.1%) had either somatic disorders (such as labored nasal breathing, regurgitation, constipation, thermoregulation disorder) or neurological disorders (weather sensitivity, sleep disorders, delayed motor and/or neuropsychiatric development, impaired blood and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics) alone. We identified three groups of major somatic dysfunctions (SDs) in the biomechanical status: local (levels: С0–СI, sternum, thoracoabdominal diaphragm, sacrum); regional (cervical spine–level СII–СVI, laryngopharyngeal complex, lungs, abdominal cavity, skull); and global dysfunction of the dura mater. After treatment, the frequency of all neurological and somatic disorders, as well as the frequency of all SDs reduced in the experimental group (p < 0.001). Pathological changes on chest X-rays (elevated diaphragm, low mobility of the thoracic diaphragm, bullae, pleurodiaphragm atic adhesions, etc.) were detected in 89 patients (67.9%), including 66 infants from the experimental group (66.7%) and 23 infants from the control group (71.8%). Osteopathic (manual) treatment significantly reduced the number of patients with abdominal diaphragm dysfunction (56.6% vs. 26.3%), bullae (35.3% vs. 11.1%), and middle lobe syndrome (8.1% vs. 2%) (p < 0.001). The number of patients with thoracoabdominal diaphragm dysfunction in the control group did not change (n = 18; 56.2%). Positive radiological dynamics was observed in 90.9% of patients from the experimental group and 43.5% of patients from the control group. Moreover, only infants from the control group demonstrated negative radiological dynamics (17.4%). Conclusion. Newborns (both preterm and full-term) with different respiratory disorders who had received all types of ALV were found to have a typical spectrum of SDs. The key aspect of their pathogenesis is primary lesions to the phrenic nerve. Correction of SDs using osteopathic manipulations significantly increased the efficacy of comprehensive treatment, which is confirmed by the results of X-ray examination. Key words: somatic dysfunctions, thoracic diaphragm, phrenic nerve, artificial ventilation, manual therapy, preterm newborns, newborns, osteopathic correction