NIH Consensus Development Conference statement: inhaled nitric-oxide therapy for premature infants.

Premature birth is a major public health problem in the United States and internationally. Infants born at or before 32 weeks' gestation (2% of all births in the United States in 2007) are at extremely high risk for death in the neonatal period or for pulmonary, visual, and neurodevelopmental morbidities with lifelong consequences including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, and brain injury. Risks for adverse outcomes increase with decreasing gestational age.

NIH consensus development conference: Inhaled nitric oxide therapy for premature infants.

Objective: To provide healthcare providers, patients, and the general public with a responsible assessment of currently available data on the use of inhaled nitric oxide in early routine, early rescue, or later rescue regimens in the care of premature infants <34 weeks gestation who require respiratory support.

Participants: A non-Department of Health and Human Services, nonadvocate 16-member panel representing the fields of biostatistics, child psychology, clinical trials, ethics, family-centered care, neonatology, neurodevelopmental follow-up, nursing, pediatric epidemiology, neurobehavior, neurological surgery, neurology, and pulmonology, perinatology, and research methodology. In addition, 18 experts from pertinent fields presented data to the panel and conference audience.