Impact of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on pulmonary function during childhood: a systematic review

Introduction: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a multifactorial chronic lung disease that contributes to disruption of pulmonary development. It may impair   pulmonary function in early childhood and persist throughout school-age, adolescence, and into adulthood. Objective: To analyze, through a systematic review, the impact of BPD on pulmonary function in early childhood. Methods: Systematic searches were performed in three electronic databases (Medline, SciELO and PEDro). Two independent examiners analyzed the titles, abstracts and full texts, considering the following study inclusion criteria: studies of pulmonary function in up to 5-year-old children diagnosed with BPD in the neonatal period. Results: Initially, 1789 articles were identified, and the final sample included 22 articles. It could be observed that children diagnosed with BPD in early childhood showed expiratory flow limitation and reduced functional residual capacity. However, pulmonary function in children with a history of BPD remains reduced when compared with healthy full-term children. Moreover, there are no positive responses in pulmonary function values with the use of bronchodilators. Conclusion: Children with BPD show changes in pulmonary function, which may improve with growth, and most of them do not respond positively to bronchodilators.