Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Ureaplasma: What Do We Know So Far?

Nicole De La Haye, Matthias C. Hütten, Steffen Kunzmann, Boris W. Kramer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common morbidity of prematurity. BPD is a chronic respiratory disease related to lung-injury during the primary course of critical lung disease such as respiratory distress syndrome or when abnormal development of the preterm lung occurs. Abnormal lung development not only results from primary lung injury in the first days after birth, but also secondary injury through abnormal repair resulting in arrested and abnormal alveolarization, fibrosis and pulmonary vascular dysgenesis. Chorioamnionitis is a risk factor that plays an important role in the development of BPD. Ureaplasma subspecies (spp.) are the most common isolated organisms from chorioamniotic tissue after premature births. Therefore Ureaplasma spp. appear to play an important role in the development of BPD, and treatment or prophylactic treatment of these infections or colonization may reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality of BPD. Ureaplasma spp. infections are challenging not only to treat, but also to diagnosis in a timely manner. This review summarizes the current state of treatment and new developments in the treatment of Ureaplasma exposure in premature infants.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-6
Number of pages6
JournalNeonatal Medicine
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Feb 2017

Cite this