Study News
Summer 2009
The DR Management study (DRM) has been structured in three phases. The first phase began in February 2003
and was the demonstration of technical competency using nasal CPAP. The second phase began in August 2003
and was a feasibility study. Centers followed the protocol for a period of ten months and randomly assigned
infants to one of the three interventions. With the success of the first two phases, the third phase began
in May 2004 and ran through March 2009. There were 658 babies enrolled in this trial.
Study Purpose
The purpose of the Delivery Room Management Trial is to compare the effect of three distinct methods of
post-delivery stabilization and subsequent respiratory care on chronic lung disease and survival in premature
infants at high risk of respiratory distress syndrome.
The three approaches to post-delivery care include:
- Intubation, prophylactic surfactant administration shortly after delivery, and subsequent
stabilization on ventilator support.
- Early stabilization on Nasal Continuous positive Airway Pressure (NCPAP) with selective
intubation and surfactant administration for clinical indications, and
- Intubation, prophylactic surfactant administration shortly after delivery, and rapid extubation
to NCPAP.
Study Design
The Delivery Room Management Trial is a multicenter randomized trial in 34 neonatal intensive care
units of the Vermont Oxford Network.