Editor—Drs Baumer, Beresford, Shaw, Manning, and their co-investigators in the two recent studies on mechanical ventilation of the newborn1 ,2 are to be congratulated for their hard work and persistence in performing these difficult clinical trials. In both, the authors conclude that patient triggered ventilation (PTV) provided no added benefit; in Baumer's trial, there was a trend towards more pneumothorax in infants below 28 weeks gestation. Both studies attempted to assess important clinical outcomes, such as the duration of mechanical ventilation, the incidence of chronic lung disease, …