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.
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