Respiratory Disorders

Key Takeaways from the Advanced Monitoring & Point-of-Care Diagnostics SessionWe have officially wrapped up the final afternoon session of the day, and it was a fantastic glimpse into the future of neonatal intensive care! The focus was entirely on cutting-edge, non-invasive monitoring and how we can bring real-time physiological data directly to the delivery room and the bedside. Here is the breakdown of the core messages from our final three speakers: Cerebral Oxygenation Monitoring / NIRS (Gerhard Pichler) The SPO2 Disconnect: Routine parameters like arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2) and heart rate do not always reflect what is happening in the brain. Due to immat…

This poster from the Medical University of Graz, Austria, explored whether early lung ultrasound (LUS) could help identify newborns at risk of ongoing respiratory distress. The study included 50 infants born at ≥34 weeks and with respiratory distress at birth. They all underwent lung ultrasound at 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Of these, 20 infants (40%) required continued respiratory support and NICU admission at 60 minutes. Lung ultrasound at just 15 minutes showed promising predictive ability, with an AUC of 0.81. Interestingly, none of the infants with a LUS score ≤5 required NICU admission, giving this cut-off a negative predictive value of 100% in this small cohort. However…

While CEPAS is yet to get going, some posters were already put up today. This interesting poster by Sotiropoulos and colleagues is an interim analysis of a coming Cochrane review. It highlights a significant evidence gap in neonatal resuscitation. Although guidelines recommend titrating oxygen (FiO₂) to reach specific SpO₂ targets after birth, no published randomised trials have actually investigated how best to do this. The ongoing Cochrane review looks optimal SpO₂ targets and different titration strategies, e.g. clinician-driven, automated and AI-informed approaches. So far, only one small pilot trial has been completed (but not published), while two further trials are…

I would be very interested to hear what actually happens in your NICU: Do you use chest/respiratory physiotherapy in preterm infants? If so, for which specific indications, which techniques are used, and who performs them? Do you have a written protocol?

We kindly invite you to participate in our questionnaire survey: "Early Inhaled Nitric Oxide (iNO) Treatment in Extremely Preterm Infants." Here is the Link below. Thank you https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=eJr-Di_uoUSqD4MBH10kTYH3NFktGw9PqlJArKc0nHxUNEZaWFlSV0RNUDJHVjVaRDBQN1cxVE9YSy4u&route=shorturl

What’s the approach to positive ET culture? When should treat and when should it be avoided? While a negative culture is obviously desirable, how far should we pursue it? Will the side effects of antibiotics eventually outweigh their benefits?

Hi everyone, I came across this interesting paper on discharging preterm infants home on caffeine. Discharging Preterm Infants on Caffeine—Practise Variation Across Europe: Results of a Cross‐Sectional Survey - Kuntz - Acta Paediatrica 2026 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apa.70502 In Canada, this was fairly common in my experience, with some infants going home on caffeine and then simply growing out of it over time. We also did not routinely use much home monitoring. Since working in the UK, however, I have not really seen this practice, so I had assumed it was uncommon across Europe as well. Interestingly, this paper suggests there is actually considerab…

Dear colleagues! May I ask you about your experience using helium in respiratory therapy? This experience appears interesting and promising for treating children at 22-24 weeks of gestation. Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Alex Nouzdin

I apologise if this topic has already been covered. We’re currently discussing severe BPD cases, particularly infants who remain in the NICU beyond a corrected age of 44+0 weeks, with some even nearing six months. These prolonged stays bring unique challenges, such as the need for specialised training, appropriate equipment, and specific emergency protocols. For example, if a baby at a corrected age of four months experiences a collapse, should the team initiate resuscitation using an NLS/NRP approach, or should an APLS code be applied? In my experience, only one unit had a clear policy to guide these situations. I’d be very interested to hear how your units h…

Hi all, Has anyone cared for a patient with multiple unilateral missing ribs? I have a patient missing multiple ribs on the right side. Very low vent settings but failed extubation due to work of breathing. If you have experience with this has any surgical team tried a temporary rib cage intervention (metal insert) in attempt to avoid a tracheostomy? Or have you pursued tracheostomy to defer intervention for later in life? CXR