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Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD; formerly Chronic Lung Disease of Infancy) is a chronic lung disorder that is most common among children who were born prematurely, with low birthweights and who received prolonged mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory distress syndrome. BPD is clinically defined as oxygen dependence to 21 post-natal days.
BPD is characterized by inflammation and scarring in the lungs. More specifically, the high pressures of oxygen delivery result in necrotizing bronchiolitis and alveolar septal injury, further compromising oxygenation of blood. Today, with the advent of surfactant therapy and high frequency nasal ventilation and oxygen supplementation, infants with BPD experience much milder injury without necrotizing bronchiolitis or alveolar septal fibrosis. Instead, we see uniformly dilated acini with thin alveolar septa and little or no interstitial fibrosis. It develops most commonly in the first 4 weeks after birth.
Feeding problems are common in infants with BPD, often due to prolonged intubation. Such infants often display oral-tactile hypersensitivity (also known as oral aversion).[1]
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