BPD in association to lung function at school age
At 12 years of age, children born very preterm with a former diagnosis
of BPD had more airflow obstruction, higher airway resistance and a
lower diffusion capacity than preterm infants without BPD (Tables 2 and
3, and Figure 1).
More airway obstruction was read as a lower FEV1/FVC and
FEF25-75 in children with than in children without BPD
(p=0.022 and p=0.021, respectively), but there was no difference in
FEV1, FVC, or in static volumes. However, the dysanapsis
ratio were lower in children with than in children without BPD (p=0.023,
Table 2).
Children with a history of BPD had an increased peripheral resistance
(measured as R5-R20 and
R5-R20 % of predicted by IOS) compared
to children born without BPD. The higher airway resistance in children
born preterm versus term was mainly explained by specifically higher
resistance among children with BPD.
Diffusion capacity was lower in children with BPD compared to children
with no BPD, both as DLCO and DLCO % of
predicted. The lower level of diffusion capacity in very preterm born
children compared to term born was mainly explained by the lower values
in children with BPD (Table 3).
Children with a history of BPD also had a larger ventilation
inhomogeneity of the conductive airways, measured as
Scond than in children without BPD. In addition,
preterm-born children with a diagnosis of BPD, but not children without
BPD, had worse LCI5.0, Scond and
Sacin than children born at term (Table 3).