The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2012 , Vol 54 , Num 3
Surfactant Therapy in Late Preterm Infants: Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Beyond
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
A significant ratio of late preterm infants receives surfactant therapy (ST)
for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and for other neonatal lung diseases
characterized by surfactant inactivation or dysfunction. We aimed to investigate
the clinical and therapeutic characteristics and outcomes of late preterm
infants who received ST in the last 10 years in our neonatal intensive care
unit. During the 10-year period, 77 late preterm infants received ST. The
underlying lung diseases were RDS in 51 (66.2%), congenital pneumonia in
15 (19.5%), congenital diaphragmatic hernia in 4 (5.2%), pulmonary edema
due to hydrops fetalis in 4 (5.2%), and acute respiratory distress syndrome
(ARDS) in 3 (3.9%) infants. Pulmonary hypertension was a significant predictive
factor for mortality. Although RDS was the main cause of respiratory failure
in late preterm infants, other lung diseases leading to surfactant dysfunction
were not rare; therefore, ST should be considered as a life-saving treatment.
Keywords :
late preterm infant, surfactant, respiratory distress.