Airway obstruction in young adults born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight in the postsurfactant era

Abstract

Background It is unknown if adults born <28 weeks or <1000 g since surfactant has been available are reaching their full airway growth potential. Objective To compare expiratory airflow at 25 years and from 8 to 25 years of participants born <28 weeks or <1000 g with controls, and within the preterm group to compare those who had bronchopulmonary dysplasia with those who did not. Methods All survivors born <28 weeks or 2499 g. At 8, 18 and 25 years, expiratory airflows were measured and the results converted to z-scores. Outcomes were compared between groups at age 25 years, and trajectories (change in z-scores per year) from childhood were contrasted between groups. Results Expiratory airfl..