Abstract
Background
An oxygen saturation (SpO2) histogram classification system has been shown to enable quantification of SpO2 instability into five types, based on histogram distribution and time spent at SpO2 ≤ 80%. We aimed to investigate this classification system as a tool to describe response to doxapram treatment in infants with severe apnea of prematurity.
Methods
This retrospective study included 61 very-low-birth-weight infants who received doxapram. SpO2 histograms were generated over the 24-h before and after doxapram start. Therapy response was defined as a decrease of ≥1 histogram types after therapy start.
Results
The median (IQR) histogram type decreased from 4 (3–4) before to 3 (2–3) after therapy start (p < 0.001). The median (IQR) FiO2 remained constant before (27% [24–35%]) and after (26% [22–35%]) therapy. Thirty-six infants (59%) responded to therapy within 24 h. In 34/36 (94%) of the responders, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) was not required during the first 72 h of therapy, compared to 15/25 (60%) of non-responders (p = 0.002). Positive and negative predictive values of the 24-h response for no IMV requirement within 72 h were 0.46 and 0.94, respectively.
Conclusions
Classification of SpO2 histograms provides an objective bedside measure to assess response to doxapram therapy and can serve as a tool to detect changes in oxygenation status around respiratory interventions.
Impact
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The SpO2 histogram classification system provides a tool for quantifying response to doxapram therapy.
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The classification system allowed estimation of the probability of invasive mechanical ventilation requirement, already within a few hours of treatment.
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The SpO2 histogram classification system allows an objective bedside assessment of the oxygenation status of the preterm infant, making it possible to assess the changes in oxygenation status in response to respiratory interventions.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This study was supported by the Sophia Foundation (grant number: S18-27).
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L.B.L. and J.A.P. drafted the first version of this article. The authors substantially contributed to conception and design (L.B.L., J.A.P., S.H.P.S., W.v.W., A.K.), contributed to acquisition of data (J.A.P., I.K.M.R., W.v.W., H.R.T.), and to the analysis and interpretation of data (L.B.L., J.A.P., S.H.P.S., O.H.). All authors revised the article critically for important intellectual content and gave their final approval of the version to be published. The local ethics review board granted a waiver from approval according to the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) in the Netherlands (MEC-2018-1106).
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Borenstein-Levin, L., Poppe, J.A., van Weteringen, W. et al. Oxygen saturation histogram classification system to evaluate response to doxapram treatment in preterm infants. Pediatr Res 93, 932–937 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02158-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02158-w
