Dr. Louise Owen

PEEP Levels

for Premature Birth

Premature babies often need help immediately after birth to open their lungs to air, start breathing and keep their hearts beating. Opening their lungs can be difficult, and once open the under-developed lungs of premature babies will often collapse again between each breath. To prevent this nearly all premature babies receive some form of mechanical respiratory support to aid breathing. Common to all types of respiratory support is the delivery of a treatment called positive end-expiratory pressure, or PEEP. PEEP gives air, or a mixture of air and oxygen, to the lung between each breath to keep the lungs open and stop them collapsing. Currently, clinicians do not have enough evidence on the right amount, or level, of PEEP to give at birth. As a result, doctors around the world give different amounts (or levels) of PEEP to premature babies at birth. In this study, the Investigators will look at 2 different approaches to PEEP to help premature babies during their first breaths at birth. At the moment, the Investigators do not know if one is better than the other. One is to give the same PEEP level to the lungs. The others is to give a high PEEP level at birth when the lungs are hardest to open and then decrease the PEEP later once the lungs are opened and the baby is breathing. Very premature babies have a risk of long-term lung disease (chronic lung disease). The more breathing support a premature baby needs, the more likely the risk of developing chronic lung disease. The Investigators want to find out whether one method of opening the baby's lungs at birth results in them needing less breathing support. This research has been initiated by a group of doctors from Australia, the Netherlands and the USA, all who look after premature babies.