MADRID – A new Finnish study raises a provocative question: Is transient tachypnea of the newborn really transient?
Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) has traditionally been viewed as a benign, self-limited condition involving 1-3 days of respiratory distress. But data from Finland’s comprehensive national health registries indicate that TTN in term babies is associated with significantly increased risk of subsequent bronchiolitis during infancy, Otto Helve, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.
“This association suggests similar pathogenic mechanisms in transient tachypnea of the newborn and bronchiolitis. We suggest that an intrinsic defect in sodium ion–driven pulmonary fluid transport may predispose to clinically significant bronchiolitis during the first year of life,” said Dr. Helve, a pediatrician at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, and the University of Helsinki.
Of more than 1 million term babies born in Finland during 1996-2015, 17,569 were diagnosed with TTN. During the same period, 40,338 infants were hospitalized with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis attributable to respiratory syncytial virus infection.
In a multivariate analysis adjusted for birth year, gender, delivery method, gestational age, and parity, TTN was independently associated with a 1.2-fold increased risk of bronchiolitis during the first year of life.
Dr. Helve reported having no financial conflicts of interest regarding his study.