Bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants. A radiological and pathological correlation.

In a group of 70 premature and newborn infants, treated with artificial ventilation, 24.3% developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Only in a very few cases did the typical radiological stages, as described by Northway, succeed each other in a chronological order. It is impossible to differentiate BPD stage I or II from RDS stage III and IV without a knowledge of the clinical course and of the duration of artificial ventilation. The lower the gestational age, the more severe and earlier do the radiological and histological changes occur. The radiological differential diagnosis of BPD includes Wilson-Mikity-syndrome, congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasia, neonatal tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis and Hamman-Rich-syndrome.