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Blood test could predict babies’ chronic lung disease: Study


Chelsea Heaney


8/08/2024 3:20:12 PM

Australian researchers hope this early detection will generate more targeted treatments and reduce risks for babies born prematurely.

A newborn baby holds it's mother's finger.
The research will soon be followed by an expanded study of 550 babies in Victoria.

New research has found a simple blood test could help show which preterm babies might develop chronic lung disease and allow for earlier diagnoses and more effective treatment.
 
Released on Thursday, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) study shows changes in 49 blood proteins, alongside gestational age, birth weight, and sex, strongly predicated bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) within 72 hours of life.
 
BPD usually occurs when a baby’s lungs are damaged by respiratory support and the long-term use of oxygen.
 
The disease affects 65% of preterm infants and results in lifelong chronic lung disease and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
 
MCRI’s Dr Prue Pereira-Fantini told newsGP the research was conducted to focus on ‘identifying the right treatment for the right baby at the right time’.
 
‘We’re really trying to develop precision medicine approaches for the treatment of babies, and in particular those born preterm,’ she said.
 
She said quicker diagnoses could save a newborn and their family weeks of suffering and waiting.
 
‘We’re hoping to develop a new diagnostic test,’ she said.
 
‘That would be the first major thing that would be fantastic’
 
The study, which examined 493 blood proteins, involved 23 babies born before 29 weeks’ gestation at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital.
 
Changes found in 49 of these proteins were detected in babies who later developed BPD.
 
Some differences were noticeable within four hours of a baby being born, it states.
 
Dr Pereira-Fantini said the study provided a comprehensive map of what occurred in babies with BPD.
 
‘Our ability to predict, prevent and treat BPD is limited,’ she said.
 
‘The tool currently used for early prediction of BPD severity currently fails to look at the disease pathology.
 
‘A BPD diagnosis is usually made at 36 weeks post-menstrual age, which limits potential treatments that can minimise lung injury and improve respiratory outcomes.’
 
Dr Pereira-Fantini said the test would likely take place in the neonatal intensive care unit in hospitals, but GPs still had a role to play.
 
‘These are babies that GPs are more likely to see and they’re going to be seeing them more frequently than their term-born counterparts, simply because these are babies that will have a lot more trouble through life,’ she said.
 
‘We’d love to work with GPs and just advocating what’s out there, and this is the first step of this.’
 
She said they had now received funding for testing on another 550 babies in Victoria.
 
‘It’s just really valuable for the community to be aware that this study is going to go on, and what we’ll be doing is looking at the trajectories of these babies over the first two years of life,’ she said.
 
‘The tool, including a blood test, would provide clinicians with the ability to guide respiratory decisions from birth, giving these babies more chances towards a healthy life.’
 
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