Noninvasive respiratory support for preterm infants: An alternative to mechanical ventilation

Increasingly, clinicians aim to minimize exposure of preterm infants to mechanical ventilation by using “noninvasive” respiratory support. This chapter summarizes the historical context and physiologic principles underpinning noninvasive respiratory support and the evidence for the use of current modes of noninvasive respiratory support for preterm infants. These modes include nasal continuous positive airway pressure, nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation, high-frequency nasal ventilation, and nasal high flow.