Trial of NCPAP Interface Leakage (ToNIL): A Randomised Crossover Comparison of Leakage With Nasal Prongs and Nasal Mask Interface in Newborn Infants Treated With CPAP

The study will recruit a total of 50 infants receiving CPAP for respiratory support at the Karolinska University Hospital and the Östersund Hospital. The infant should be stable and not in major respiratory distress. Consent from the parents will be obtained before enrolment.

The included infants should have stable spontaneous breathing and be older than 28 weeks (corrected age) at the time of enrolment. The reason for respiratory failure and CPAP treatment is not relevant for study purposes. If an infant cannot participate in the study at a given time, he or she can be enrolled later. A child can only participate once.

The primary outcome is leakage. This is recorded using equipment for measuring air flow during CPAP treatment. Measurement of leakage is first performed for one interface and then the next (cross-over). The interface order is randomized. The leakage will be measured after a few minutes of stabilization (part 1). If there is leakage, a few simple measures to reduce the leakage will be evaluated (part 2). The second part will approximately add 10-20 minutes and includes simple measures such as adjusting the nasal mask, closing the mouth, changing the position or changing the size of nasal mask/prongs. Part 1 and part 2 are then repeated for the next interface. If the child shows signs of distress or agitation the measurement will be paused or stopped.

Part 1: The CPAP system with the randomized interface (nasal mask or nasal prongs) is applied and adjusted by experienced NICU staff. The staff is blinded for the outcome variable, leakage. The choice of size and other adjustments are guided by clinical experience and not by protocol. The NICU staff is not allowed to participate in the explorative part where measures to reduce leakage are evaluated. This precaution is to avoid staff learning what adjustments affect leakage and influence care of infants enrolled at a later stage.

Part 2: In this part the investigators can evaluate the effect of simple measures to minimize the leakage. The level of leakage is displayed on a screen. Examples of measures are; closing the mouth of the infant, adjusting straps, adjusting position and changing the size of the interface. Not every child will undergo all measures to reduce leakage, since the aim of this explorative part is to explore ways to reduce leakage.