'Nasal mask' in comparison with 'nasal prongs' or 'rotation of nasal mask with nasal prongs' reduce the incidence of nasal injury in preterm neonates supported on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP): A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: With increasing use of nCPAP, the safety and comfort associated with nCPAP have come into the forefront. The reported incidence of nasal injuries associated with the use of nCPAP is 20% to 60%. A recent meta-analysis concluded that the use of nasal masks significantly decreases CPAP failure and the incidence of moderate to severe nasal injury and stress the need for a well powered RCT to confirm their findings. METHODS: In this Open label, 3 arms, sequential, stratified randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the incidence and severity of nasal injury at removal of nCPAP when using two different nasal interfaces and in three groups (i.e. rotation group, mask continue group, prong continue group). Preterm infants with gestation