Optimising Ventilation in Preterms With Closed-loop Oxygen Control

Many premature infants require respiratory support in the newborn period. Mechanical ventilation although life-saving is linked to complications for the lungs and other organs and its duration should be kept to a minimum. The use of supplemental oxygen may also increase the risk of comorbidities such as retinopathy of prematurity. Therefore, oxygen saturation levels and the amount of inspired oxygen concentration provided should be continuously monitored. Oxygen control can be performed manually or with the use of a computer software incorporated into the ventilator that is called 'closed loop automated oxygen control'(CLAC). The software uses an algorithm that automatically adjusts the amount of inspired oxygen to maintain oxygen saturation levels in a target range. Evidence suggests that CLAC increases the time spent in the desired oxygen target range but there are no data to determin