Ventilatory Support, Extubation and Cerebral Perfusion Changes in Preterm: a NIRS study

Objective: to investigate any change in cerebral oxygenation (rScO2) and fractional tissue oxygen extraction (cFTOE) after extubation in preterm infant. Study design: single-centre observational study with retrospective analysis of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data of all consecutive preterm patient born at our institution in 1 year. Correlation analysis and comparison between subgroups was made. Result: 19 patients were included; average gestational age (GA): 29,4 weeks.No significant change was noted in rScO2 and cFTOE after extubation in whole population. A correlation between GA, GMH-IVH and DrScO2, DcFTOE were noted. A significant increase of cFTOE was noted in patient with previous GMH-IVH (+0.040; p=0.036). Conclusion: extubation per se is not linked with significant change in cerebral oxygenation and perfusion. Patient with GMH-IVH shows an increase in cFTOE suggesting a perturbation in cerebral perfusion.Further observations on larger populations should corroborate this data highlighting cautious extubation in preterm babies with GMH-IVHped