LUNG EXPANSION AND VENTILATION DURING RESUSCITATION OF ASPHYXIATED NEWBORN INFANTS

Gas uptake, lung ventilation, tracheal and esophageal pressures were measured during routine resuscitation of asphyxiated newborn infants by positive pressure ventilation. In most infants initial gas uptake was high, due in part to gas held in the lungs to form the residual capacity. The investigation showed that ventilating pressures of 30 cm. H2O provide adequate lung ventilation in most full-term infants. The infant's reflex response to lung inflation may play an important role in his recovery. Within one minute from the onset of regular breathing, the gaseous exchange and oxygen consumption were similar to the resting values of healthy infants on the day of birth. © 1969 The C. V. Mosby Company.