Influence of Preterm Birth, BPD and Lung Inhomogeneity on Respiratory System Impedance – Model Studies

The influence of preterm birth, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and lung inhomogeneity on respiratory system impedance (RSI) was studied. The simulation of spontaneous breathing in full term newborns (FT), very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) preterm infants was carried out using a developed linear RLC respiratory system model. Besides BPD, four types of lung inhomogeneity: (1) one-lung obstruction (OBSTR), (2) one-lung restriction (RESTR), (3) one-lung obstructive-restrictive disturbance (OBSTR-RESTR I), (4) bilateral obstructive-restrictive disturbance (OBSTR-RESTR II), with obstruction of one lung and restriction of the second, were studied.