Pulmonary interstitial emphysema treated by high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.

Twenty-seven low birth weight infants who developed pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) and respiratory failure while on conventional ventilation were treated with high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV). The mean birth weight was 1.2 kg (range 0.55 to 2) with gestational age of 28 wk (range 25 to 34). Ten patients died, six of whom had documented sepsis with shock and were therefore excluded from analysis. All patients showed initial improvement on HFOV. Surviving patients showed continued improvement in oxygenation and ventilation at increasingly lower fraction of inspired oxygen and proximal airway pressure with resolution of PIE, while nonsurvivors progressively developed chronic respiratory insufficiency with continued PIE from which recovery was not possible. Overall survival in nonseptic patients was 80% (16 of 20). We found HFOV to be effective in the treatment of PIE and hypothesize that interstitial airleak is decreased during HFOV because adequate ventilation is provided at lower peak distal airway pressures.