# The Role of Outpatient Diuretic Therapy in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

> **NIH NIH R03** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $84,594

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 More than 300,000 infants are born prematurely in the U.S. each year, and of these,
approximately 50,000 develop chronic respiratory disease due to their prematurity. The most
common respiratory manifestation is bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which affects alveolar,
airway, and pulmonary vascular development. Limited data suggests that a substantial
percentage of children with BPD will have long-term respiratory symptoms persisting into adult
life with altered lung function trajectories. However, predicting the course of respiratory disease
in children with BPD throughout the lifespan is currently difficult, compounded by the wide
variation in outpatient management after initial hospital discharge. One of the most common
types of medical management are diuretics. Theoretically, diuretics reduce interstitial fluid within
the lungs, thus decreasing work of breathing. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding
the benefits/risks of diuretic use within the neonatal intensive care unit, and virtually no data or
guidelines for the use of these medications outside of the hospital. In light of the ongoing
controversy that broad use of long-term diuretics in preterm infants may or may not be beneficial
in the inpatient setting, our goal is to use “real-world” data to assess whether the outpatient use
of diuretics reduce acute and chronic respiratory morbidities in preterm infants and young
children less than 2 years of age and whether they are associated with the side effect of
impaired growth. In Aim 1, we hypothesize that the use of diuretics during the first 2 years of life
will result in less acute care use (e.g., emergency department visits and hospital readmissions)
and decreased chronic respiratory symptoms (e.g., activity limitations and difficulty breathing).
In Aim 2, we hypothesize that the use of diuretics during the first year after initial NICU
discharge will result in impairment of growth. These studies will help direct our understanding
and guidance for the use of outpatient diuretic use in children with BPD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10807024
- **Project number:** 5R03HD109442-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Michael Collaco
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $84,594
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10807024

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10807024, The Role of Outpatient Diuretic Therapy in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (5R03HD109442-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10807024. Licensed CC0.

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