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Enlarged airspaces in the distal lung in adolescents born very preterm as measured by aerosol

Öhrneman, Hugo LU ; Lindström, Frida ; Hagman, Cecilia LU orcid ; Petersson Sjögren, Madeleine LU ; Rissler, Jenny LU ; Wollmer, Per LU ; Tufvesson, Ellen LU and Löndahl, Jakob LU orcid (2024) In BMJ Open Respiratory Research 11(1).
Abstract

RATIONALE: Preterm infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are thought to have fewer and larger alveoli than their term peers, but it is unclear to what degree this persists later in life.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate to what degree the distal airspaces are enlarged in adolescents born preterm and to evaluate the new Airspace Dimension Assessment (AiDA) method in investigating this group.

METHODS: We investigated 41 adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age, of whom 25 were born very preterm (a gestational age <31 weeks, with a mean of 26 weeks) and 16 were term-born controls. Of the preterms, 17 were diagnosed with BPD. The AiDA method was used to measure the average distal airspace radius (rAiDA) in the... (More)

RATIONALE: Preterm infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are thought to have fewer and larger alveoli than their term peers, but it is unclear to what degree this persists later in life.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate to what degree the distal airspaces are enlarged in adolescents born preterm and to evaluate the new Airspace Dimension Assessment (AiDA) method in investigating this group.

METHODS: We investigated 41 adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age, of whom 25 were born very preterm (a gestational age <31 weeks, with a mean of 26 weeks) and 16 were term-born controls. Of the preterms, 17 were diagnosed with BPD. The AiDA method was used to measure the average distal airspace radius (rAiDA) in the lungs. In addition, lung function was evaluated by spirometry, impulse oscillometry and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We observed a mean rAiDA of 295±53 µm for the preterm group compared with 231±12 µm for the control group (p<0.0001). The adolescents diagnosed with BPD had a mean rAiDA of 313±54 µm. There was a strong negative correlation between gestational age and distal airspace radius (p<0.0001). The BPD group had a decreased FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 s, z-score: -1.28±1.37, p=0.012) and DLCO (z-score: -0.92±1.01, p=0.013) compared with the controls, but all other lung function variables showed normal values.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the enlarged airspaces seen in preterm infants likely remain in adolescence. Distal airspace radius as measured by AiDA was the lung function variable that showed the most significant difference between preterm and term-born adolescents.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Humans, Adolescent, Male, Female, Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/physiopathology, Infant, Extremely Premature, Infant, Newborn, Gestational Age, Case-Control Studies, Lung/physiopathology, Aerosols, Respiratory Function Tests, Spirometry, Pulmonary Alveoli/physiopathology
in
BMJ Open Respiratory Research
volume
11
issue
1
article number
e002666
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85214033978
  • pmid:39797676
ISSN
2052-4439
DOI
10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002666
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.
id
a0c66471-9677-4582-85bc-825872b56bca
date added to LUP
2025-01-13 11:30:59
date last changed
2025-07-01 18:01:49
@article{a0c66471-9677-4582-85bc-825872b56bca,
  abstract     = {{<p>RATIONALE: Preterm infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are thought to have fewer and larger alveoli than their term peers, but it is unclear to what degree this persists later in life.</p><p>OBJECTIVES: To investigate to what degree the distal airspaces are enlarged in adolescents born preterm and to evaluate the new Airspace Dimension Assessment (AiDA) method in investigating this group.</p><p>METHODS: We investigated 41 adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age, of whom 25 were born very preterm (a gestational age &lt;31 weeks, with a mean of 26 weeks) and 16 were term-born controls. Of the preterms, 17 were diagnosed with BPD. The AiDA method was used to measure the average distal airspace radius (rAiDA) in the lungs. In addition, lung function was evaluated by spirometry, impulse oscillometry and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO).</p><p>MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We observed a mean rAiDA of 295±53 µm for the preterm group compared with 231±12 µm for the control group (p&lt;0.0001). The adolescents diagnosed with BPD had a mean rAiDA of 313±54 µm. There was a strong negative correlation between gestational age and distal airspace radius (p&lt;0.0001). The BPD group had a decreased FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 s, z-score: -1.28±1.37, p=0.012) and DLCO (z-score: -0.92±1.01, p=0.013) compared with the controls, but all other lung function variables showed normal values.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the enlarged airspaces seen in preterm infants likely remain in adolescence. Distal airspace radius as measured by AiDA was the lung function variable that showed the most significant difference between preterm and term-born adolescents.</p>}},
  author       = {{Öhrneman, Hugo and Lindström, Frida and Hagman, Cecilia and Petersson Sjögren, Madeleine and Rissler, Jenny and Wollmer, Per and Tufvesson, Ellen and Löndahl, Jakob}},
  issn         = {{2052-4439}},
  keywords     = {{Humans; Adolescent; Male; Female; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/physiopathology; Infant, Extremely Premature; Infant, Newborn; Gestational Age; Case-Control Studies; Lung/physiopathology; Aerosols; Respiratory Function Tests; Spirometry; Pulmonary Alveoli/physiopathology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{BMJ Open Respiratory Research}},
  title        = {{Enlarged airspaces in the distal lung in adolescents born very preterm as measured by aerosol}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002666}},
  doi          = {{10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002666}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}