Use of a beta-agonist in ventilated, very-low-birth-weight babies: A longitudinal evaluation

To determine if there is a specific postnatal (PNA) of postconceptional age (PCA) at which ventilated preterm infants respond to β-agonists, we evaluated 15 infants with a mean gestational age of 26.5 ± 1.5 weeks and mean birth weight of 0.89 ± 0.23 kg who required mechanical ventilation at 10 days of age. Weekly pulmonary function testing (PFT) was performed before and 1 h after administration of albuterol. Taking the group as a whole, as well as individual babies, regression analysis showed no relationship between positive response and either PNA or PCA. Evaluation of individual infants, however, showed that some consistently responded to β-agonists whereas others did not. We recommend individual PFT to identify those infants who will benefit from use of β-agonists.