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Presented at the Eastern Society for Pediatric Research Meeting, February 26-28, 1999, Atlantic City, NJ
PNEUMOCARDIOGRAM (PCG) ABNORMALITIES AFTER RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME (RDS)
Harel Rosen, Jeanne Curry, Debra Gutter, Mujahid Anwar, Mark Hiatt, Thomas Heygi. Division of Neonatology, UMDNJ-RWJ Medical School, St. Peters Medical Center, New Brunswick, NJ.
Premature infants following RDS manifested decreased central apneas, increased mixed apneas, and a similar distribution of obstructive apneas compared to controls. The RDS group of 72 infants (BW 1357 +/- 584g; GA 29.5 +/-2.8wks) were compared to 108 controls controls (BW 2233 +/- 866g; GA 34.1 +/- 4.0wks). Although significant differences occurred in BW and GA, the postconceptional age at the time of study was similar (36.6 +/- 3.0 vs. 36.2 +/- 3.4 wks). PCGs consisting of a combination of heart rate, respiratory rate, nasal air flow, and pulse oximetry measurements were done prior to hospital discharge on infants requiring home monitoring and showed the following:
| RDS | No RDS | |
| Central Apnea (CA), n (%) | 22 (30.5%) | 71 (65.7%) * |
| CA, 10-15 sec | 32 (44.4%) | 80 (74.1%) * |
| CA, 15-20 sec | 7 (9.7%) | 95 (88.0%) * |
| CA, > 20 sec | 30 (41.7%) | 67 (62.0%) * |
| Mixed Apnea (MA) | 52 (72.2%) | 33 (30.6%) * |
| Obstructive apnea (OA) | 41 (56.9%) | 66 (61.1%) |
| Excessive Periodic Breathing | 46 (63.9%) | 58 (53.7%) |
| * p < 0.01 |
Infants suffering from RDS manifest different types of apnea at time of hospital discharge, but the incidence of periodic breathing and reflux is not affected. The decreased incidence of central apnea, an index of brain maturation, in the RDS group may reflect its longer period of extrauterine adaption.