Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

What it is

Infants who still have an oxygen requirement at a postmenstrual age of 36 weeks are described as having bronchopulmonary dysplasia. It is the chronic lung disease of the premature infant, and it belongs to the list of medical problems that follow pre term birth, that is birth after 20 weeks and before 37 weeks of gestation, alongside respiratory distress syndrome, pneumothorax, apnoea and bradycardia.

Causes and risk

The causes are the ventilation that keeps the lung open and what is given through it.

• Pressure
• Volume trauma
• Artificial ventilation
• Oxygen toxicity
• Infection