Decreased sodium ion absorption across nasal epithelium of very premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
METHODS
Our patient population consisted of 31 infants born at 30 weeks of gestation or less. We focused on infants born at that stage of gestation because the incidence of, and mortality rate from, RDS continues to be high in these infants. Infants were retrospectively assigned to an RDS group (22 infants) or a non-RDS group (9 infants). RDS was defined as respiratory distress associated with hypoxia, the need for mechanical ventilation for longer than 24 hours, and chest x-ray findings that were
RESULTS
Infants in the RDS and non-RDS groups were matched for gestational age (27.9 ± 0.4 weeks, non-RDS group; 27.2 ± 0.3 weeks, RDS group), but the mean birth weight of the non-RDS group (1101 ± 52 gm) was significantly higher than that of the RDS group (935 ± 44 gm; p <0.05). There was a tendency for Apgar scores to be lower in the RDS group (1-minute score: non-RDS group, 4.5 ± 0.8; RDS group, 3.6 ± 0.4; 5-minute score: non-RDS group, 7.4 ± 0.5; RDS group, 6.3 ± 0.3; p >0.05 at 1 and 5 minutes).
DISCUSSION
The principal cause of RDS is thought to be deficient surfactant production and secretion in the lungs of preterm infants. Widespread use of surfactant has decreased the morbidity and mortality rates associated with this disease. 16 However, RDS continues to be a significant cause of death in very premature infants, and the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia has not decreased since the introduction of surfactant replacement therapy. 16 These observations suggest that surfactant deficiency
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Cited by (0)
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From the Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Eastern Virginia and Hospital of the Kings Daughters, Norfolk, Virginia.
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Supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
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Reprint requests: Pierre M. Barker, MBChB, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 635 Burnett-Womack Building, Manning Drive, Chapel Hill NC 27599-7220.
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0022-3476/97/$5.00 + 0 9/21/77395