Ventilation and Spontaneous Breathing at Birth of Infants with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Abstract

Objective: To describe the interaction of spontaneous breaths, manual ventilation, and tidal volumes (VT) during stabilization of infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the delivery room. Study design: We studied infants with CDH receiving respiratory support at birth. Airway pressure, flow, and volume were measured, and each breath or inflation was analyzed. Each VT was classified as a manual inflation, a spontaneous breath, or a spontaneous breath coinciding with manual inflation on the basis of the timing of the pressure and flow waves. Results: Twelve infants had 2957 breaths suitable for analysis, with spontaneous breathing in 11 infants (92%). The mean (±SD) proportion o..