PARENTS of premature babies can rest a little easier. A non-invasive breathing aid for newborns has been given a clean bill of health.
The standard treatment for babies with breathing difficulties uses pressurised air to inflate the lungs via a tube into the neck – a technique known as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However this can increase the risk of infection in some conditions.
So the less drastic technique of continuous negative extrathoracic pressure (CNEP) ventilation was developed. The baby’s body is placed in a low-pressure incubator, with an airtight seal at the neck. The negative pressure encourages the…
