Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Alternate Names : BPD
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Treatment
Additional ventilator support is usually required to deliver pressure to the lungs to keep lung tissue inflated, and to deliver supplemental oxygen. Pressures and oxygen concentrations are slowly reduced. When the infant is weaned from the ventilator, oxygen may continue by a mask or nasal tube for several weeks to months.
Infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia are usually fed by tubes inserted into the stomach. Extra calories are needed due to the effort of breathing. Fluids may be restricted, and the infant may be given diuretics (medications that remove water from the body) to keep the lungs from filling with fluid.
Additional medications may include corticosteroids, bronchodilators (to reduce hyperactivity of the airways), and surfactants (to lower the suface tension of the lung).
Parents of these infants require emotional support as the resolution of the disease is often very slow, and hospitalization may be prolonged.
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