Oxygenation in the Newborn: a Narrative Review in Chinese Perspective

Background and Objective: With the advance in neonatal intensive care, oxygen therapy has been evolving quickly over the past thirty years. This review intended to describe the development and current status of oxygenation management of neonates in China, focusing on delivery room management, postnatal management in the neonatal intensive care units and the development of oxygenation monitoring. Methods: Databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Chinese databases and other relevant sources including Google and Baidu search engines, and World Health Organization websites were used to search relevant articles in English and Chinese from 1992 to 2022. Key Content and Findings: In hospitals with more advanced neonatal intensive care units, evidenceguided neonatal oxygenation management has evolved to the level of western countries in many areas such as neonatal resuscitation and preterm oxygenation management. However, significant variations of care levels exist and many factors including inadequate personnel, equipment shortage and lack of high-quality research to guide clinical practice hinders the further development of neonatal oxygenation management in China. Conclusions: Our review suggests that attention needs to be paid in enhancing oxygenation management throughout China, not just in the more advanced neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This can be done through regional or national education programs focusing on helping the less advanced regions/NICUs to set up evidence-based practice protocols, improve proper use of equipment, and educate the staff in providing appropriate respiratory support. In addition, more high-quality research focusing on oxygen therapy in the Chinese neonates is needed.