Correlation of urinary inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in very low birth weight infants with subsequent development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Currently, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) occurs almost exclusively in pre-term infants. In addition to prematurity, other factors like oxygen toxicity and inflammation can contribute to the pathogenesis. This study aimed to compare urinary inflammatory and oxidative stress markers between the no/mild BPD group and moderate/severe BPD group and between BPD cases with significant early lung disease like respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) ('classic' BPD) and with minimal early lung disease ('atypical' BPD). A total of 60 patients who were a gestational age < 30 weeks or a birth weight < 1250 g were included. Urine samples were obtained on the 1(st), 3(rd) and 7(th) day of life and measured the levels of leukotriene E-4 (LTE4) and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). The 8-OHdG values on the 3(rd) day showed significant correlation to duration of mechanical ventilation. The 8-OHdG levels on the 7(th) day were the independent risk factor for developing moderate/severe BPD. In 'classic' BPD, the 8-OHdG values on the 3(rd) day were higher than those of 'atypical' BPD. In atypical' BPD, the LTE4 values on the 7(th) day were higher than the values in 'classic' BPD. These results suggest that oxidative DNA damage could be the crucial mechanism in the pathogenesis of current BPD and the ongoing inflammatory process could be an important mechanism in 'atypical' BPD.