A randomized single-center controlled trial of synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation with heliox in newborn infants with meconium aspiration syndrome

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) with heliox in newborn infants with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS).

Methods: Seventy-one newborn infants with MAS in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Daping Hospital of Army Medical University were enrolled in the trial. Infants treated with SIMV were randomized and divided into the heliox group (n = 35) and control group (n = 36). The heliox group received heliox for 6 h followed by air-oxygen mixed gas, and the control group received air-oxygen mixed gas. The primary outcome measures were PaO₂ /FiO₂ (P/F) and the extubation time. The secondary outcome measures were the incidence of mechanical ventilation complications, hospital length of stay in the NICU, blood gas analysis, and inflammation markers.

Results: The P/F in the heliox group was significantly better than that in the control group (p < .001). The extubation time and hospital length of stay in the NICU in the heliox group were shorter than those in the control group (p < .001). The inflammation markers at 6 h and myocardial injury markers at 24 h were decreased compared with those at 0 h, and those in the heliox group were more significantly decreased than those in the control group ([interleukin {IL}-6/IL-8/tumor necrosis factor α] p < .001, [C-reaction protein] p = .012; [creatine kinase] p < .001, [CK-MB] p = .041).

Conclusion: Heliox appears to be more effective in reducing the length of ventilation and increasing carbon dioxide eliminations than an air-oxygen mixture in infants with MAS under the support of SIMV.