Long-term pulmonary sequelae of meconium aspiration syndrome.

To determine the incidence of long-term sequelae after meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), we studied 11 children who had MAS at age 8.2 +/- 0.2 years (mean +/- SD) and nine healthy control subjects with pulmonary function and exercise stress tests. The MAS children had evidence of mild airway obstruction, hyperinflation, and increased closing volumes in comparison with control values. During graded exercise stress tests on a treadmill, MAS children achieved normal maximal oxygen consumption and anaerobic threshold without a significant fall in arterial oxygen saturation or increase in CO2 tension. Exercise-induced bronchospasm occurred in four (36%) MAS subjects but in none of the control subjects. We conclude that children surviving MAS have long-term pulmonary sequelae, including airway obstruction, hyperinflation, elevated closing volumes, and airway hyperreactivity; yet they achieve normal aerobic capacity. These findings are similar, although less severe, than those after prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Childhood sequelae of infant lung disease: exercise and pulmonary function abnormalities after bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

To determine the long-term pulmonary sequelae and effect on exercise tolerance of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), we studied 10 children at a mean age of 10.4 years, who had been born prematurely, survived respiratory distress syndrome, and subsequently developed BPD, and compared them with eight age-matched normal children born at term. Pulmonary function tests and graded exercise stress tests were performed. Residual volume, the ratio between residual volume and total lung capacity, vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity, and maximal expiratory flows at 80%, 70%, and 60% of total lung capacity were all abnormal (P less than 0.02) in the children with BPD, compared with control values. Pre-exercise transcutaneous CO2 tension was higher (P less than 0.05) in the BPD group than in the control group. At maximal workload, tcPCO2 remained high in patients with BPD compared with control values (P less than 0.05). Arterial oxygen saturation at maximal workload fell below pre-exercise levels in the BPD group (P less than 0.05) but not in control children. There were no differences in maximal oxygen consumption between the BPD group and control children. Exercise-induced bronchospasm occurred in 50% of the BPD group, but not in the control group. We conclude that long-term survivors of BPD have evidence of airway obstruction, hyperinflation, and airway hyperreactivity, compared with a control group. Aerobic fitness was not significantly different in the BPD and control groups, but was achieved in the BPD group at the expense of a fall in SaO2 and a rise in tcPCO2.