Novel prevention bundle reduces rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in infants: JAMA

California: Implementation of a detailed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) prevention bundle results in a sustained low rate of BPD in children, researchers report in the latest study published in JAMA Network Open.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia or chronic lung disease is a common, serious complication that occurs mostly in premature infants. The rates of BPD continue to be high and have not changed much in the last decade. Maria Fe B. Villosis, Kaiser Permanente Panorama City, Panorama City, California, and the team, therefore, aimed to develop a consistent BPD prevention bundle in a systematic approach to decrease BPD.

"We, herein, describe a single-center quality improvement initiative to develop a BPD prevention system of care that is associated with a decrease in rates of BPD," wrote the authors. 

Villosis et al conducted a quality improvement study that included 484 infants with birth weights from 501 to 1500 g. The infants were admitted to a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California system from 2009 through 2019. The study period was divided into three periods: 1, baseline (2009); 2, initial changes based on ongoing cycles of Plan-Do-Study-Act (2010-2014); and 3, full implementation of successive Plan-Do-Study-Act results (2015-2019).