Brain growth in extremely preterm infants before and after implementing NAVA ventilation.

Abstract

During neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) both the timing and degree of ventilatory assist are controlled by the patient's respiratory center (1) resulting in improved synchrony and lower peak inspiratory pressures and lower oxygen requirements compared with conventional ventilation in low birth weight infants (2,3). However, there are no randomized controlled trials yet available evaluating the effects of NAVA ventilation on the neurodevelopmental outcomes, nor are there studies reporting the use of NAVA ventilation as a standard neonatal intensive care unit practice in extremely preterm infants.