The first reports of the successful use of mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory disorders in the neonate were published in the 1960s. Subsequent decades have seen the widespread use of ventilation technology, the development of high–frequency ventilation and extracorporeal support, and, most recently, the use of surfactant replacement therapy and synchronized ventilation. Neonatal and pulmonary clinicians now have a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic tools from which to select a customized management strategy. As a result, the modern neonatal intensive care unit has become a technological wonder, and an occasional source of confusion.
