EC Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common chronic lung disease in infancy which was first described in 1967 by Northway., et al. It occurs mainly in premature infants who require respiratory support, and O₂ supplementation up to 36 weeks of corrected gestational age. Advances in neonatal care have resulted in improved survival rates of premature infants with BPD raising concerns regarding the long-term complications of the disease.

In this review article, we aim to discuss the long-term pulmonary complications of BPD such as pulmonary hypertension, home O₂ therapy, increased risk of viral respiratory infections, pulmonary dysfunction, asthma-like symptoms, exercise intolerance, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and other possible structural morbidities.

We also discussed the possible implications of this diagnosis on health system, new modalities in screening, novel experimental preventive interventions, as well as the best practices to improve the pulmonary outcome of BPD survivors.

Keywords: Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD); Pulmonary Sequelae; Premature Infants

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