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Premature Lungs Essay

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Premature neonates or preterm babies refer to the neonates that are born before 37 weeks of gestation are over. Given that most of the body organs are not completely developed at this stage, the neonates have a high risk of developing many complications at birth. A good example of these organs is the lungs, which completely mature by week 36 of gestation. Therefore, neonates born at 37th weeks are likely to have immature lungs that are associated with respiratory problems such as respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and apnea of prematurity. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) develops as a consequence of the lung’s inability to produce enough surfactant necessary for maintaining the air spaces in the lungs in an open state. As a …show more content…

According to DiBlasi, even in animal models, the conventional methods cause inflammation of the lungs and sometimes cause injure to the lungs.1 These techniques also cause redundancy in alveolar growth and also affect the efficacy of surfactant produced in the animal lung.1 This is a good signal that these techniques may have serious consequences in the neonate. One of the adverse effects of invasive and mechanical ventilation is ventilator-induced lung injury.1 This complication is defined by the presence of polytrauma (excessive tidal volume) and shear injury to the airways, a condition known as atelectrauma.1 Insertion of the endotracheal tube into the lungs through the airways also causes injury to the lungs and the airways, a condition known as endotrauma.1
Insertion of the endotracheal tube through the airways is also a painful procedure that may need the neonate to be sedated first. According to DiBlasi, insertion of the tube may also cause acute airway injury, emergencies, an infestation of the airway with bacteria, reduced ciliary function and increased resistance to airflow that may result to increased work of breathing (WOB) energy required for breathing.1 Another common complication associated with a conventional method is bronchopulmonary dysplasia.2 This is usually a serious condition, and may progress to a condition that resembles chronic asthma later in the child’s life.2 According

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