Use of mask ventilation and oxygen supplementation in German delivery rooms from 2008 to 2022

Abstract

Lung aeration is the most important objective of resuscitative interventions in neonates born with absent or inadequate spontaneous breathing. International resuscitation guidelines have primarily recommended the use of mask ventilation, with either a flow-inflating or self-inflating bag or a T-piece device. 1,2 The standard approach was 100% oxygen at birth. 1 A major change occurred in 2010, when international consensus guidelines on neonatal resuscitation recommended starting mask ventilation with room air rather than pure oxygen. This was based on evidence for improved outcomes in term and near-term infants. 2,3