Treating Breathing Problems In Preterm Children

Cardiff University child health experts are renewing their appeal for Welsh families to take part in another landmark study to improve the health of children born prematurely. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

In the largest study of preterm born children in the world, the team from the School of Medicine has already collected information from 7,000 children to investigate the long-term breathing outcomes in babies born early compared to those born on time. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

With £1.36 million funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC), they now plan to build on this research by visiting 1,000 children at their homes to further understand why prematurely born children develop breathing problems. Those with significant breathing problems will be invited to join a treatment trial to identify the best treatment in prematurely born children. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Professor Sailesh Kotecha, who is leading the research, said: “From the marvellous response that we received from over 7,000 children in Wales, we have established that prematurely born children have significantly more respiratory symptoms than those born on time. However, it is unclear why this happens and what is the best treatment…” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​