Improving breathing support for babies born very premature will be explored under a Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)-led trial after securing funding boost.

MCRI’s Georgia Stephen has received a two-year, $150,000 grant from the ZOLL Foundation to support a trial that compares two different ways of removing breathing tubes, ultimately reducing lung damage and helping maintain healthy oxygen levels in preterm babies.

The ZOLL Foundation, a not-for-profit based in the US, supports innovative, early-career researchers globally, focusing on projects that improve outcomes for patients with cardiopulmonary and respiratory conditions.

Image: MCRI researcher Georgia Stephen

In Australia 3,000 babies every year are born preterm and often require invasive, life-saving breathing support through a ventilator and breathing tube. But removal of this tube, known as extubation, is a delicate process and fails about 40 per cent of the time, resulting in a dangerous drop in oxygen and potentially permanent damage.

The grant will support the PrePAP trial, which is examining two current extubation approaches in 134 babies born between 22 and 30 weeks gestation.

“We are looking to establish whether supplying pressurised air through a mask before and after removing a breathing tube is a better method than simply applying it after extubation,” she said.

“We have also developed video resources that demonstrate these different approaches in plain language, reassuring parents and carers about the process and how the study works.”

Ms Stephen said the trial would address a current evidence gap, inform clinical practice and help reduce rates of extubation failure.

“The journey for families when babies are born preterm can be extremely stressful and confronting,” she said, “We are aiming to improve a specific area of care, using a safe, non-invasive method that reduces damage to the airways of these tiny, vulnerable patients.”

Researchers from the Royal Women’s Hospital and Joan Kirner Women's and Children's Hospital (Western Health) will also contribute to the project.

Read more about MCRI’s Newborn Health research.