pediatrics
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
Introduction
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is chronic lung disease of the neonate that typically is caused by prolonged ventilation and is further defined by degree of prematurity and extent of supplemental oxygen requirement. Diagnosis is based on prolonged need for oxygen supplementation and sometimes ventilatory support. Treatment is supportive and includes nutritional supplementation, fluid restriction, diuretics, and perhaps inhaled bronchodilators and, as a last resort, systemic or inhaled corticosteroids. (See also Overview of Perinatal Respiratory Disorders .) Extensive Perinatal Physiology accompany the birth process, sometimes unmasking conditions that posed no problem during intrauterine life. For that reason, a person with Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is considered present when there is prolonged need for supplemental oxygen in preterm infants after 28 days of age or after 36 weeks postmenstrual age and who do not have other conditions requiring oxygen (eg, Neonatal Pneumonia , 