Surfactant replacement therapy for meconium aspiration syndrome. Multicenter study of surfactant (beractant) use in the treatment of term infants with severe respiratory failure. Survanta in Term Infants Study Group. Treatment of MAS with PPHN using combined therapy: SLL, bolus surfactant and iNO.
The pathophysiology of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is related not only to mechanical obstruction of the airways and chemical injury to the respiratory epithelium but also to surfactant inactivation by meconium. A randomized, controlled study was performed to determine whether high-dose surfactant therapy improves the pulmonary morbidity of term infants ventilated for MAS.
                Forty term infants receiving mechanical ventilation for MAS were enrolled in this trial, in which the infants in the study group (n = 20) received up to four doses of 150 mg (6 mL)/kg beractant (Survanta), instilled every 6 hours by continuous infusion for 20 minutes via a side hole endotracheal tube adapter, and the infants in the control group (n = 20) received 6 mL/kg air placebo.
                Mean arterial-to-alveolar PO2 ratio values increased from 0.09 to 0.11 at 1 and 6 hours with a concomitant slight decrease in oxygenation index values from 23.7 to 19.7 at 1 hour and 20.7 at 6 hours after the first dose of surfactant. Oxygenation improved cumulatively after the second and third dose of surfactant, with mean arterial-to-alveolar PO2 ratios and oxygenation indices of 0.18 and 12.1 at 6 hours after the second dose of surfactant and 0.31 and 5.9 at 6 hours after the third dose of surfactant, eliminating the need for a fourth dose in any infant in the study group. After three doses of surfactant, persistent pulmonary hypertension had resolved in all but one of the infants in the study group versus none of the infants in the control group. No air leaks developed in any of the 20 infants in the study group after surfactant therapy, and only 1 infant required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Air leaks developed in 5 of the 20 infants in the control group, and 6 underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The duration of mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy, and admission was significantly shorter in the surfactant group than in the control group.
                Surfactant replacement therapy, if started within 6 hours after birth, improves oxygenation and reduces the incidence of air leaks, severity of pulmonary morbidity, and hospitalization time of term infants with MAS. The purpose of this study was to determine whether surfactant (beractant) administration to term newborns in respiratory failure and at risk for requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment would significantly reduce the incidence of severe complications through 28 days of age and the need for ECMO.
                A multicenter (n = 44), randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. Infants weighing 2000 gm or more with gestational ages of 36 weeks or greater were stratified by diagnosis (meconium aspiration syndrome, sepsis, or idiopathic persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) and oxygenation index (15 to 22, 23 to 30, 31 to 39) and then randomly assigned to receive four doses of beractant, 100 mg/kg (n = 167), or air placebo (n = 161) before ECMO treatment and four additional doses during ECMO, if ECMO was required. The incidence of untoward effects (including hemorrhagic, neurologic, pulmonary, renal, cardiovascular, infectious, metabolic, and technical complications) occurring before and after randomization and through 28 days of age or discharge were recorded.
                The two treatment groups were comparable in baseline parameters, including birth weight, sex, gestational age, oxygenation index, and primary diagnosis. There was no difference in the incidence of severe complications. The need for ECMO therapy was significantly less in the surfactant group than in the placebo group (p = 0.038); this effect was greatest within the lowest oxygenation index stratum (15 to 22; p = 0.013).
                Use of surfactant, particularly in the early phase of respiratory failure, significantly decreases the need for ECMO in the treatment of term newborns with respiratory failure, without increasing the risk of complications. The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of surfactant treatment either by bolus or surfactant lung lavage followed by inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy in infants with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) complicated by persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN). In this study, thirteen infants with diagnosis of MAS and PPHN were first treated with conventional respiratory support. Then between 2 and 22h of life they were randomized either to bolus surfactant treatment (n=6) or surfactant lung lavage (SLL, n=7) treatment. Then all infants were treated with iNO therapy. The groups were compared with regard to their clinical course: changes in PaO(2), FiO(2), MAP, OI, A-a oxygen gradient, duration of iNO therapy, length of ventilation and hospitalization. Complications and mortality were also compared. The results showed that infants treated with SLL had significant improvements in oxygenation, decreases in MAP and A-a gradients. But there were no significant differences in duration of ventilation, iNO treatment, length of hospitalization or complications. In conclusion these data show no advantage of SLL therapy over bolus surfactant treatment in infants with MAS complicated by PPHN.
In infants with MAS, surfactant administration may reduce the severity of respiratory illness and decrease the number of infants with progressive respiratory failure requiring support with ECMO. The relative efficacy of surfactant therapy compared to, or in conjunction with, other approaches to treatment including inhaled nitric oxide, liquid ventilation, surfactant lavage and high frequency ventilation remains to be tested.