Weaning preterm infants off CPAP – a single unit experience

Abstract

Aim: To investigate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) weaning in preterm infants, and whether gestational age (GA) influenced the preferred weaning method or duration of weaning.

Methods: A retrospective chart review including 98 preterm infants born before 34 weeks of gestation, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway, between January 2009 and December 2011.

Results: 89.8 % of the infants got a combination of the two weaning methods, and the median duration of weaning was 20 days. There was no difference in preferred method between different age groups. When divided into three age groups, the oldest infants had a significantly shorter weaning period (p<0.001), and age at cessation was lower than in the youngest babies.

Conclusion: The youngest infants have longer duration of weaning, and are older at withdrawal of CPAP. The weaning period, in general, was longer than in other studies.