VENTILATORY STUDIES IN HEALTHY INFANTS

Extract Thoracic gas volume (TGV), specific compliance (SC), and mean pulmonary resistance were measured in 38 healthy infants between 4 and 46 weeks of age. TGV had a mean value of 30±3.3 ml/kg of body weight or 0.768±0.089 X 10-3 ml/cm body length3. The mean value for SC was 0.056±0.01 cm H2O/1 TGV; that for specific pulmonary conductance was 0.298±0.075 1/sec/cm H2O/TGV. Pulmonary conductance related to body length3 had a mean value of 0.221±0.066 X 10-6 1/sec/cm H2O/cm3. The value for the change in intraesophageal pressure between the minimum and maximum values in each respiratory cycle was 8.0±1.47 cm H2O. The results of this study indicate that TGV, SC, and pulmonary resistance, when related to body size, show little difference when comparing newborn infants and adults. Speculation Measurements of respiratory function in infants are known to be practical. The availability of such measurements in healthy infants should make possible the determination of abnormalities in the respiration of infants with acute viral bronchiolitis and cystic fibrosis of the pancreas, or other respiratory diseases. © International Pediatrics Research Foundation, Inc. 1969. All Rights Reserved.