J Perinat Med. 2025 Apr 21. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2024-0586. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Infants with Down’s syndrome (DS) can suffer from lung hypoplasia. Our aim was to determine if the chest radiographic thoracic area (CRTA) on day one of life differed between infants with DS compared to term controls without respiratory disease and whether in infants with DS, the CRTA was related to a longer duration of ventilation and supplemental oxygen therapy.
METHODS: A review of infants with DS born between 2012 and 2023 at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK was conducted. The control group consisted of term, newborn infants matched for birth weight and ventilated for poor respiratory drive at birth. Chest radiographs on day one were analysed and the highest CRTA for each infant was included in the analysis.
RESULTS: The 40 infants with DS (18 male) had significantly lower median (IQR) CRTA [1,922 (1,571-2,261) mm2] compared to 80 controls [2,495 (2,108-2,908) mm2, p<0.001]. The CRTA was not related to a longer duration of invasive ventilation, a longer period of supplemental oxygen requirement and was not different in infants with DS with or without significant congenital heart disease or gastrointestinal atresia.
CONCLUSIONS: Newborn infants with Down’s syndrome had lower chest radiographic thoracic area compared to healthy term controls, but this finding was not associated with clinical indices of lung disease severity.
PMID:40248867 | DOI:10.1515/jpm-2024-0586
