Randomised crossover trial comparing algorithms and averaging times for automatic oxygen control in preterm infants

Christoph E Schwarz, Karen B Kreutzer, Lukas Langanky, Nicole S Wolf, Wolfgang Braun, Marc Paul O'Sullivan, Christian F Poets, Axel R Franz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Automatic control (SPOC) of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), based on continuous analysis of pulse oximeter saturation (SpO2), improves the proportion of time preterm infants spend within a specified SpO2-target range (Target%). We evaluated if a revised SPOC algorithm (SPOCnew, including an upper limit for FiO2) compared to both routine manual control (RMC) and the previously tested algorithm (SPOCold, unrestricted maximum FiO2) increases Target%, and evaluated the effect of the pulse oximeter's averaging time on controlling the SpO2 signal during SPOC periods.

DESIGN: Unblinded, randomised controlled crossover study comparing 2 SPOC algorithms and 2 SpO2 averaging times in random order: 12 hours SPOCnew and 12 hours SPOCold (averaging time 2 s or 8 s for 6 hours each) were compared with 6-hour RMC. A generated list of random numbers was used for allocation sequence.

SETTING: University-affiliated tertiary neonatal intensive care unit, Germany PATIENTS: Twenty-four infants on non-invasive respiratory support with FiO2 >0.21 were analysed (median gestational age at birth, birth weight and age at randomisation were 25.3 weeks, 585 g and 30 days).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Target%.

RESULTS: Mean (SD) [95% CI] Target% was 56% (9) [52, 59] for RMC versus 69% (9) [65, 72] for SPOCold_2s, 70% (7) [67, 73] for SPOCnew_2s, 71% (8) [68, 74] for SPOCold_8s and 72% (8) [69, 75] for SPOCnew_8s.

CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of SpO2-averaging time, Target% was higher with both SPOC algorithms compared to RMC. Despite limiting the maximum FiO2, SPOCnew remained significantly better at maintaining SpO2 within target range compared to RMC.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03785899.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)425-430
JournalArchives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition
Volume107
Issue number4
Early online date24 Nov 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2022

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