Investigators: Graham Hall, Andrew Wilson, Ingrid Laing, Shannon Simpson, Denby Evans, Jessica Hillas, Nada Townsi, Naomi Hemy, Rhea Urs, Sherlynn Ang
External collaborators: Jane Pillow (King Edward Memorial Hospital), Zoltan Hantos (University of Szeged, Hungary), Glenys Chidlow (PathWest Laboratory Medicine)
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease resulting from premature birth. Previous research has largely concentrated on the lungs; however it is increasingly acknowledged that BPD is more of a complex multisystem disorder. This study aims to quantify the contributions of the heart and diaphragm, in addition to the lung, to the development of BPD in very preterm infants with the ultimate aim of developing a predictive risk index for determining which babies are likely to have poorer outcomes.
Very preterm infants (< 32 weeks gestational age) were initially recruited into the neonatal phase of the study as inpatients of the King Edward Memorial Hospital Neonatal Clinical Care Unit. These infants had their lung, heart and diaphragm function evaluated and an assessment of BPD based on the duration of breathing support at 36 weeks gestational age.
This project is the follow-up phase where participants attend PMH have their lung, heart and diaphragm function reassessed at 12 – 15 months corrected age. In the interim, families also have the option of taking part in a viral surveillance project to assess the impact of respiratory viral infections in the first year of life on long term lung health outcomes of very preterm infants.
The overall aim is to determine which factors lead to poorer outcomes in premature babies.