Aim: To test the hypothesis that complications of neonatal intensive care are related to increased oxygen derived free radical activity, using breath pentane as a marker of lipid peroxidation.
Methods: Exhaled breath was collected daily from 57 ventilated preterm infants and pentane concentration measured by gas chromatography.
Results: High peak pentane exhalation was significantly associated with low gestational age, mortality, intraventricular haemorrhage and retinopathy of prematurity. Peak pentane was not significantly associated with the development of chronic lung disease.
Conclusions: The demonstration that pentane exhalation is related to the course of neonatal disease and its outcome is consistent with the hypothesis that lipid peroxidation is associated with these illnesses, and may contribute to their severity. If this is a causal relation, antioxidant treatments could prove useful in reducing their severity. Measurement of breath pentane might assist in the assessment of antioxidant strategies prior to more extensive clinical trials.