MEDizzy - A newborn who is 33-weeks gestation and 48 hours old has

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Neonatal and High-Risk Neonatal Management

A newborn who is 33-weeks gestation and 48 hours old has been diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A health-care provider orders the administration of surfactant via endotracheal tube. The father asks a nurse to explain how this treatment will help his baby. The nurse explains that the preterm infant is unable to produce adequate amounts of surfactant and giving it to his baby will:

ExplanationRDS is the result of a primary absence, deficiency, or alteration in the production of pulmonary surfactant. Lack of surfactant in the preterm infant causes decreased lung compliance, resulting in in- creased inspiratory pressure needed to expand the lungs with air. Sur- factant replacement therapy decreases alveolar collapse and thus de- creases the severity of RDS. Early surfactant replacement therapy is associated with a decreased need for mechanical ventilation and fewer complications. Preventing alveolar collapse allows the exchange of gases and thus will cause an increase in PaO2 and a decrease in PaCO2. Pleural effusion does not occur in this disease.