Ventilation defects and increased alveolar heterogeneity have been observed previously with 129Xe MRI in preterm-born children. We hypothesised that reduced gas exchange in preterm-born children could be measured with dissolved 129Xe whole lung spectroscopy. The ratio of red blood cells (RBC) to tissue/plasma (TP) signals (RBC/TP) was significantly elevated in the lungs of 34 preterm-born children compared with 16 term-born children. This trend was unexpected and we hypothesise that in preterm-born children a reduced number of alveolar septa due to birth at an early stage of lung development can lead to decreased TP signal and thus increased RBC/TP ratio.
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