Pulmonary Hypertension in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was first described by Northway et al. in 1967 [1]: it is a sequela of variable duration of the respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn and particularly of the premature, whose lungs are deficient in surfactant at birth. In most cases BPD evolves toward a full normalization of the pulmonary function within a few months to two years. Some patients, however, remain in severe respiratory insufficiency leading to fatal outcome in the absence of prolonged mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy [2]: most of these patients have pulmonary hypertension.