Persistent acquired lobar overinflation (PALO) may complicate bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). From infants admitted to the regional neonatal intensive care unit or who had been followed up at the chronic lung disease clinic in Liverpool over a 6.5-year period, 11 children with BPD and PALO were identified and details of their neonatal and subsequent outcome obtained. Their median gestational age was 29 weeks (range 24-33) and median birth weight was 1317 g (range 676-1968 g). All had received ventilatory support for severe neonatal respiratory distress syndrome for a median of 26 days (range 5-86). The median age the acquired lobar overinflation was detected was 82 days (range 45424 days). Nine patients required continued neonatal or paediatric intensive care re-admission for deteriorating respiratory function. Six children have subsequently died at a median age of 9.5 months (range 6.5-20). Five patients underwent bronchoscopy, four suggesting the presence of bronchomalacia. Three patients had ventilation-perfusion scans all showing that the overinflated lobe had no mismatch defect unlike other areas of the lung.
Conclusion: The place of specific therapies for persistent acquired lobar overinflation is unclear. Surgery to remove the overinflated lobe in such cases may be inappropriate and the outcome of this complication of bronchopulmonary dysplasia appears to be poor.