Automated oxygen titration in term newborns and young infants: A randomised crossover study

Abstract

Oxygen therapy is an integral part of managing respiratory disease in neonates and infants but carries a high burden of morbidity when delivered inappropriately. Avoidance of both hypoxaemia and hyperoxaemia is of paramount importance. 1 Manual titration of oxygen therapy is known in preterm newborns to be associated with a high proportion of time spent outside the set target range (TR) for oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry (SpO 2 ). 2 For such infants, automated titration of oxygen therapy guided by closed-loop algorithms has now emerged as a viable alternative, which compared to manual control can result in more time spent in the SpO 2 TR. 3Given that ventilators with capability for automated oxygen control are increasingly being used for respiratory support of mature newborns and young infants, there is a need for investigation of the im-