not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Participants Infants of a gestational age of 22–41 weeks and undergoing oral endotracheal intubation in the NICU within the first 28 days of life were eligible for inclusion in the present study. The infants who required urgent intubation, those intubated in the delivery room or the operating room, infants with a heart rate of <120/min prior to randomization, those with airway or lung anomalies, the ones with cyanotic congenital heart disease, and the ones for whom NIPPV treatment was contraindicated (congenital nasal anomaly, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or abdominal wall defect) were excluded from the study. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of each neonatal patient prior to enrollment in the study.