[Barotrauma in newborns. Study of 81 cases at a neonatal intensive care unit of a province].

We present 81 patients with diagnosis of air leaks in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). During 6 and a half year period. Air leaks were present in a 7.3% of overall admissions and in 18% in those whom received mechanical ventilation. We observed pneumothorax in all the patients, accompanied by pneumomediastinum in 12% and with interstitial emphysema in 7%. Other forms of air leak were present only rarely. Eighty percent of our patients were managed with intrapleural drainage. Almost 40% of events happened after resuscitation of tracheal aspiration management. The concomitant disease most often seen was respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) during it's convalescent period. Most of them had been previously placed in mechanical ventilation. We had a very high death rate, most significant in the group with weight less than 2,500 g in which 80% died. An analysis between our findings and those in literature was made.