Researchers from the Netherlands and Australia believe they have found a better way to help premature babies with breathing difficulties, using rabbits.
Premature infants often suffer from malfunctioning lungs and decreased lung capacity, leading to the need for mechanical ventilation to help them breathe properly.
In a study, from Leiden University Medical Centre, and the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, in Melbourne, researchers investigated what effect different levels of resistance to air have on premature rabbit kittens when they breathe out (expiration).
Researchers adjusted the levels of air resistance of a mechanical ventilator to create different time lengths for expiration. The results showed that greater air resistance to exhaled air – in other words, a more prolonged time in breathing out – actually increased the animals’ overall lung capacity over time.
The findings, published in Pediatric Research, suggest that changing ventilation devices to increase resistance during expiration – contrary to existing strategies that aim to reduce the ‘work of breathing’ for babies by lessening the air resistance – could benefit preterm infants with malfunctioning lungs.