Research commentary: Effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure and cannula use in the neonatal intensive care unit setting

Abstract

days after administration of CPAP. These findings werelocatedatthetipofthenasalprongswithinthe nose itself. An external complication found was columellar necrosis (5.5%) after 10 days on CPAP. There were no statistically significant differences between the incidence of complications in the nasal CPAP and nasal cannula groups. There were statistical differences found however when comparing gestation age, birth weight and Apgar scores. Conclusions: External and/or internal complications attributed to nasal CPAP use are a real occurrence in the neonatal intensive care setting with a total frequency of 13.2%. These complications can occur early with neonates with lower Apgar scores having a higher risk. Close monitoring for potential complications was recommended.