Ventilatory and sensory responses in adult survivors of preterm birth and bronchopulmonary dysplasia with reduced exercise capacity.

Rationale: Adults born very to extremely preterm, with or without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), have obstructive lung disease, but it is unknown whether this results in respiratory limitations, such as mechanical constraints to Vt expansion during exercise leading to intolerable dyspnea and reduced exercise tolerance, as it does in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that adult survivors of preterm birth (≤32 wk gestational age) with (n = 20) and without BPD (n = 15) with reduced exercise capacity demonstrate clinically important respiratory limitations at near-maximal exercise compared with full-term control subjects (n = 20).

Methods: Detailed ventilatory and sensory measurements were made before and during exercise on all patients in the three study groups.

Normal pulmonary gas exchange efficiency and absence of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia in adults with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Cardiopulmonary function is reduced in adults born very preterm, but it is unknown if this results in reduced pulmonary gas exchange efficiency during exercise and, consequently, leads to reduced aerobic capacity in subjects with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We hypothesized that an excessively large alveolar to arterial oxygen difference (AaDO2) and resulting exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH) would contribute to reduced aerobic fitness in adults born very preterm with and without BPD. Measurements of pulmonary function, lung volumes and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) were made at rest.