COMPUTERIZED DETERMINATION OF SPONTANEOUS INSPIRATORY AND EXPIRATORY TIMES IN PREMATURE NEONATES DURING INTERMITTENT POSITIVE PRESSURE VENTILATION .2. RESULTS FROM 20 BABIES

Twenty premature infants ventilated for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were studied using a new computerised technique to determine spo ntaneous inspiratory and expiratory times. The technique is continuous and non-invasive. Infants were studied during intermittent positive p ressure ventilation for periods of up to 45 minutes. Median birth weig ht and gestation were 1477 g and 30 weeks. The median number of breath s analysed for each baby was 925. The median (range) for spontaneous i nspiratory time was 0.30 (0.26 to 0.34) seconds and for spontaneous ex piratory time it was 0.46 (0.34 to 0.66) seconds. The spontaneous insp iratory and expiratory times were different from the ventilator settin gs.