Background Although life-saving, intubation and mechanical ventilation can lead to complications including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In order to reduce the incidence of BPD, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is increasingly used.

Objective The aim of our study was to describe changes in ventilator strategies and outcomes between 2006 and 2010 in the Italian Neonatal Network (INN).

Design Multicentre cohort study.

Settings 31 tertiary level neonatal units participating in INN in 2006 and 2010.

Patients 2465 preterm infants 23–30 weeks gestational age (GA) without congenital anomalies.

Main outcomes measures Death, BPD and other variables defined according to Vermont Oxford Network. Logistic regressions, adjusting for confounders and clustering for hospitals, were used.

Results Similar numbers of infants were studied between 2006 and 2010 (1234 in 2006 and 1231 in 2010). The baseline risk of populations studied (GA, birth weight and Vermont Oxford Network Risk-Adjustment score) did not change. After adjusting for confounding variables, infants receiving invasive mechanical ventilation decreased (OR=0.72, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.89) while NIV increased (OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.21); intubation in delivery room decreased (OR=0.64, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.79). Considering outcomes, there was a significant reduction in mortality (OR=0.73, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.96) and in the combined outcome mortality or BPD (OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.94).

Conclusions Despite a stable baseline risk, from 2006 to 2010, we observed a lower level of invasiveness, a reduction of mechanical ventilation and an increase of NIV use, and this was accompanied by a decrease in risk-adjusted mortality and BPD.