Nasal deformities in neonates. Their occurrence in those treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure and nasal endotracheal tubes
K. Gowdar, M. J. Bull, R. L. Schreiner, J. A. Lemons and E. L. Gresham
Seventy-two infants were treated with nasal continuous positive airway
pressure for one day to five weeks, and nasal deformities developed in
none. One hundred thirty-six infants were treated with nasotracheal tubes
and eight (6%) were found to have nasal deformities. There was a strong
correlation between duration of intubation and birth weight and the
presence of deformities. In no infant receiving ventilation therapy for
less than six days did nasal deformities develop. The incidence of nasal
deformities in infants weighing less than 1,000 g was 50%, whereas in
infants heavier than 1,000 g it was 2.4%. No infant had clinical symptoms
suggestive of subglottic stenosis during the first year of life. The data
do not support the use of routine tracheostomy in newborn infants even
after prolonged intubation.
