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Bronchopulmonary dysplasia - Overview

Alternative Names

BPD

Definition of Bronchopulmonary dysplasia:

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung condition that affects newborn babies who are put on a breathing machine at birth.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) occurs in severely ill infants who have received high levels of oxygen for long periods of time or who have been on a ventilator during treatment for respiratory distress syndrome. It is more common in infants born early (premature) whose lungs were not fully developed at birth.

Risk factors include:

Prematurity
Respiratory infection
Congenital heart disease
Other severe illness in the newborn that needs to be treated with oxygen or a ventilator

The risk of severe BPD has decreased in recent years.

Reviewed last on: 8/10/2007
Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Veteran Affairs, VA System, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

References

Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000.

Smith VC. Trends in severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia rates between 1994 and 2002. J Pediatr. 2005; 146(4): 469-73.

Cogo PE. Surfactant kinetics in preterm infants on mechanical ventilation who did and did not develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Crit Care Med. 2003; 31(5): 1532-8.

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