Table 1.

Suggested indications for intubation and mechanical ventilation in preterm infants: presence of at least one of the following criteria.

Criteria	Description
Excessive work of breathing	Dyspnea with Silverman score > 6 and/or severe tachypnea (>100 breaths/min), despite optimized noninvasive respiratory support
Absent or inadequate respiratory effort	Apnea > 4 events/hour or >2 events/hour requiring positive pressure ventilation with mask, despite optimized noninvasive respiratory support and adequate caffeine therapy
Severe respiratory acidosis	Arterial/Capillary blood: pH < 7.20 and pCO2 > 60 mmHg at 0–72 h of life, pCO2 > 65 mmHg beyond 72 h of life, despite optimized noninvasive respiratory support
High oxygen requirement	FiO2 > 0.50 for ELGANs or FiO2 > 0.60 for newborns between 28 and 32 weeks of GA, to maintain adequate range value of paO2 > 50–60 mmHg (6.7–8 kPa) and adequate range of SpO2 (90–95%) despite optimized noninvasive respiratory support and surfactant treatment for RDS
Moderate or severe respiratory distress and contraindications for noninvasive ventilatory support	Intestinal perforation, Intestinal obstruction, esophageal atresia Recent gastrointestinal surgery
Postoperative period	Recent abdominal incision Recent tracheostomy Residual effects of anesthetic agents Need for muscle relaxant drugs

pCO₂: partial pressure of CO₂; FiO₂: fraction of inspired oxygen; ELGANs: extremely low gestational age newborns; paO₂: arterial oxygen tension; RDS: respiratory distress syndrome.