Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

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Lungs

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disorder that may affect infants exposed to high levels of oxygen therapy or who have been on a ventilator for extended periods of time. It is more common among premature infants whose lungs have not fully developed at the time of birth.

BPD

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) occurs in severely ill infants who have received high concentrations of oxygen for long periods of time and prolonged support on respiratory ventilators during treatment for respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn.

The lung injury that produces BPD may be caused by a combination of factors, including increased pressure in the lungs from mechanical ventilators, or from the oxygen toxicity that occurs when the lung is exposed to very high concentrations of oxygen for prolonged periods.

Risk factors include prematurity, respiratory infection, congenital heart disease, or other severe illness in the newborn requiring therapy with oxygen or ventilators. The risk of severe BPD has declined in recent years.

Review Date: 08/10/2005
Reviewed By: David A. Kaufman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.