Nasal deformities in neonates. Their occurrence in those treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure and nasal endotracheal tubes.

Seventy-two infants were treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure for one day to five weeks, and nasal deformities developed in none. One hundred thirty-six infants were treated with nasotracheal tubes and eight (6%) were found to have nasal deformities. There was a strong correlation between duration of intubation and birth weight and the presence of deformities. In no infant receiving ventilation therapy for less than six days did nasal deformities develop. The incidence of nasal deformities in infants weighing less than 1,000 g was 50%, whereas in infants heavier than 1,000 g it was 2.4%. No infant had clinical symptoms suggestive of subglottic stenosis during the first year of life. The data do not support the use of routine tracheostomy in newborn infants even after prolonged intubation.