How Is Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Diagnosed?

It's hard to tell whether a baby with breathing problems has bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) before he or she is about 14 to 30 days old. At this point, the baby should be showing improvement in the breathing problems. Instead, the baby's condition seems to be getting worse and he or she needs more oxygen or help from a breathing machine.

Doctors usually conduct a number of tests on newborns with breathing problems to make sure they diagnose their condition correctly. These tests include:

• Blood tests. Blood samples are checked to see whether the baby has enough oxygen in his or her blood.
• Chest x ray. A chest x ray takes a picture of the heart and lungs. It shows larger areas of air and changes from inflammation or infection. It also shows areas of the lung that have collapsed and may help confirm that the lungs aren't developing normally.
• Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. Echocardiogram is used to rule out congenital heart defects or pulmonary arterial hypertension as the cause of the breathing problems.

Doctors grade BPD as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on how much extra oxygen the baby needs and how long he or she needs it.