EXERCISE ABILITY IN SURVIVORS OF SEVERE BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA

There is limited information concerning the exercise performance of lo ng-term survivors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and much of wha t is available pertains to those with relatively mild disease. The pre sent study was undertaken to describe exercise responses in patients w ith a history of severe BPD, defined as those patients with a clinical and radiographic diagnosis of BPD who required supplemental oxygen at least until they were 44 wk postconceptual age and who were discharge d home on oxygen. Fifteen children with a history of severe BPD were m atched for gestational age with 15 children who had previously had res piratory distress syndrome but who did not develop BPD (Prem). These P rem control children were subsequently compared with 13 healthy contro l children born at term (Control) who were of similar postnatal age. P articipants underwent pulmonary function testing, progressive exercise testing on a cycle ergometer, and a steady-state exercise test with c ardiac output determined by CO2-rebreathing. Despite the patients with BPD having a lower FEV1 than those in the Prem group, who had lower v alues than the Control group (BPD, 64 +/- 21%; Prem, 85 +/- 11%; Contr ol, 95 +/- 8%), the exercise capacity did not differ between the BPD a nd the Prem and between the Prem and the Control groups (BPD, 84 +/- 1 5%; Prem, 81 +/- 17%; Control, 91 +/- 12%). However, the BPD patients used a greater percentage of their ventilatory reserve ((V) over dot E max/40 FEV1: BPD, 93 +/- 20%; Prem, 67 +/- 12%; Control, 59 +/- 13%). Of the four patients with BPD who had significant oxygen desaturation with exercise, three had the lowest values for FEV1. Cardiac output wa s appropriate for oxygen consumption in most patients.