Oxygen radical injury may be a common pathogenic mechanism in several neonatal diseases. The list includes but is not limited to retinopathy of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, suabependymal and intraventricular hemorrhage, and necrotizing entercolitis. The greater incidence of these disorders in preterm infants suggests that some aspect of prematurity increases susceptibility to the effects of toxic oxygen species. Saugstad has proposed the term "oxygen radical disease in neonatology" to describe the apparent propensity of neonates to oxygen radical injury. Because of the greater incidence in preterm infants, perhaps a better name for this disorder would be "oxygen radical disease of prematurity."
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