Transcutaneous carbon dioxide pattern and trend over time in preterm infants

Background Chronic lung disease remains a burden for extremely preterm infants. The changes in ventilation over time and optimal ventilatory management remains unknown. Newer, non-invasive technologies provide insight into these patterns. Methods This single-center prospective cohort study enrolled infants ≤32 0/7 weeks. We obtained epochs of transcutaneous carbon dioxide (TcCO 2 ) measurements twice each week to describe the pattern of hypercarbia throughout their hospitalization. Results Patterns of hypercarbia varied based on birth gestational age and post-menstrual age (PMA) ( p = 0.03), regardless of respiratory support. Infants receiving the most respiratory support had values 16–21 mmHg higher than those on room air ( p