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Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia usually require ventilatory support. In a multisite clinical trial, researchers randomized 610 infants who were born at gestational ages of 25 through 28 weeks and who needed ventilatory support to receive nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) or intubation plus ventilation at 5 minutes after birth. Infants who required immediate intubation were excluded, and infants randomized to NCPAP were intubated only if they had apnea, were acidotic (pH <7.25) and had partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide >60 mm Hg, had metabolic acidosis unresponsive to treatment, or required treatment with more than 60% oxygen.
The primary outcome of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (defined as oxyg…