IMMUNOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF RESPIRATORY DISORDERS IN PRETERM INFANTS

Abstract

Preterm birth is one of the most pressing problems in the world. Every year, about 10% of all children are born before their due date. Success and failure during the neonatal period in this category determine the main indicators of neonatal and infant mortality and disability. High-tech and expensive medical care is required to care for premature infants. Despite technological progress, the increasing amount of theoretical knowledge, changing therapeutic approaches, growing professionalism of clinicians do not give the desired result and the results of care leave a lot to be desired for the extra-premature children.
The key point in the transition from intrauterine to extra-uterine existence is the beginning of external respiration. Breathing is one of the main vital functions of our body and the main efforts to stabilize a preterm child at birth are aimed at its protection. Therefore, among the pathological conditions in premature infants, respiratory disorders occupy a special place, which include a number of diseases that disrupt the normal course of the neonatal period and are characterized by negative consequences, determining the quality of life of the premature child and his or her family thereafter. In the premature birth of a child, various prenatal factors affect the body, contributing to the appearance of morphofunctional immaturity and disruption of adaptation mechanisms. As a result, such newborns need much more high-tech medical care to successfully adapt to life outside the womb. Despite all the achievements in the protection of respiratory function in the newborn, the implementation of respiratory support can start pathological cascades, closing the «pathological circle», leading to chronic disease.

Сonclusions. The main mechanisms of damage are realized through immunologically mediated and inflammatory reactions. The pathological processes underlying them are triggered in the intrauterine period due to an imbalance between the pro-and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, which leads to a disruption of lung maturation. After birth, the immune system of a premature baby has its own features, formed antennatally. They requires further study for a deeper understanding of its mechanisms and their role in the formation of respiratory disorders in premature infants.