Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) in preterm newborn infants with respiratory distress syndrome-a randomized controlled trial

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) improves patient-ventilator synchrony during invasive ventilation and leads to lower peak inspiratory pressures (PIP) and oxygen requirements. The aim of this trial was to compare NAVA with current standard ventilation in preterm infants in terms of the duration of invasive ventilation. Sixty infants born between 28 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation and requiring invasive ventilation due to neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were randomized to conventional ventilation or NAVA. The median durations of invasive ventilation were 34.7 h (quartiles 22.8-67.9 h) and 25.8 h (15.6-52.1 h) in the NAVA and control groups, respectively (P = 0.21). Lower PIPs were achieved with NAVA (P = 0.02), and the rapid reduction in PIP after changing the ventilation mode to NAVA made following the predetermined extubation criteria challenging. The other ventilatory and vital parameters did not differ between the groups. Frequent apneas and persistent pulmonary hypertension were conditions that limited the use of NAVA in 17 % of the patients randomized to the NAVA group. Similar cumulative doses of opiates were used in both groups (P = 0.71). Conclusions: NAVA was a safe and feasible ventilation mode for the majority of preterm infants suffering from RDS, but the traditional extubation criteria were not clinically applicable during NAVA.