Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a long-lasting form of lung disease affecting babies born prematurely. Their lungs are not fully formed and are sometimes damaged, and they need extra oxygen through a tube placed into their nose or more support to survive, grow and develop.
BPD also is called chronic lung disease of prematurity. The number of newborns with BPD has risen as more and more babies survive being born many weeks before their due date. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 newborns develop BPD in the United States each year.
In this Q&A, Dr. Gregory Redding, division chief of the Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Division at Seattle Children’s and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, shares details on Seattle Children’s expanding Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Program.
Q: Why is Seattle Children’s expanding its BPD Program?
Our Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Program treats more than 12,000 patients each year, and a growing number of newborns born very prematurely develop symptoms of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Our expanding BPD program offers a multi-specialty continuum of care that spans from inpatient neonatal intensive care to home. Our BPD team includes specialists from neonatology, cardiology, pulmonary, critical care, nutrition, occupational and speech therapy and several other ancillary services. Our growing research program is discovering better ways to diagnose and treat pulmonary conditions such as BPD.
Q: What’s unique about Seattle Children’s BPD Program?
Seattle Children’s has a remarkable brain trust of people who have significant experience in treating the sickest children. For example, our transport team of doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are national leaders in safely moving very sick babies by ground and air from other hospitals to Seattle Children’s.
