Warming and humidifying inspiratory gases to minimise lung injury during resuscitation of extremely preterm infants.

Chief Investigator:

Dr Scott Morris

Funding Amount:

$31,350

Recipient:

Flinders University

Overview:

Extremely preterm babies have a high risk of lung damage leading to chronic lung disease. The cold and dry medical gases routinely used when resuscitating very small babies may damage the airway lining and contribute to chronic lung disease. Using warm and humid gases for resuscitation could be a very simple way to reduce damage to the lung. In this study we will compare cold dry gas with warm humid gas when resuscitating extremely preterm babies. If warm humid gas is less damaging, then an immediate benefit in health outcomes could be achieved with a change in clinical practice.