Stabilisation of premature infants in the delivery room with nasal high flow.

Objective: This was a pilot study to determine the feasibility of using nasal high flow (nHF) (also known as heated humidified high-flow nasal cannula) for stabilisation of babies born at <30 weeks gestation in the delivery room (DR) and transfer to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Design: Observational study.

Setting: Single-centre NICU.

Patients: Infants born at <30 weeks gestation.

Interventions: Stabilisation and transfer to NICU using nHF.

Main Outcome Measures: Feasibility of stabilisation as defined by successful transfer and clinical measures of stability at admission to NICU including oxygen requirement, temperature, requirement for surfactant and inotrope use within 72 h of delivery.

Results: Twenty-eight babies were enrolled after written parental consent had been obtained. 25/28 were successfully stabilised in the DR and transferred to the NICU on nHF. The average admission temperature for babies transferred on nHF was 36.9°C and the average inspired oxygen at admission was 29%. Less than half (48%) required surfactant and 60% were still on nHF 72 h after admission. 1 baby received inotropes.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that using nHF for stabilisation of premature infants in the DR and subsequent transfer to NICU is feasible.

Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT01991886.