Neonatal Respiratory Distress

The hypothesis behind the study is that the performance of constant flow CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices (CF-CPAP) is not inferior to that of variable flow CPAP devices (VF-CPAP) in terms of respiratory efforts assessed by swing EAdi (Electrical activity of diaphragm) in a population of premature neonates born ≤ 32 weeks of gestational age.

The study aims to determine if there is a systematic difference (bias) between pulse oximeters used in control systems for automated oxygen delivery (A-FiO2) and those used in monitoring systems. When using A-FiO2 systems there are commonly two oximeter probes on the infant with two difference readouts. Nurses report frustration that the two readings are often markedly different. It is understandable that physiological differences between sensor sites might reflect different regional oxygen saturation levels. It is also possible that there is a relevant systematic bias between difference monitors and sensors. Therefore, a large systematic multicenter study is needed to determine whether these frequent differences should be ignored as physiological noise or considered clinically relevant.