Helvetica paediatrica acta
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57 preterm and 1 term infant suffering from severe idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome with respiratory insufficiency were mechanically ventilated with an inspiratory-time of at least 1.5 sec and an inspiratory:expiratory ratio of always less than 1:2. Consequently the respiratory frequencies were below 14/min (low frequency ventilation). ⋯ None showed radiological evidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This fact together with a relatively low incidence of pneumothorax (6.8%) suggests that this method if compared with conventional ventilation is less likely to cause persistent lung damage.