Early Surfactant to Reduce Use of Mechanical Breathing in Low Birth Weight Infants
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2002-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Mechanical ventilation (MV) of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is
associated with lung injury and nosocomial infection. Moderately premature infants with mild
respiratory distress do not routinely receive artificial surfactant early in their course of
treatment. This multi-center, randomized trial tested whether early surfactant therapy and
nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in infants 1,250-2,000g with RDS reduced
mechanical ventilation usage without added complications. Infants with mild to moderate
respiratory distress syndrome were enrolled in the trial and given either early
administration of surfactant followed by extubation within 30 minutes and the use of CPAP, or
standard practice (surfactant according to current center practice, only after initiation of
mechanical ventilation), to see whether the experimental method would reduce the need for
subsequent mechanical ventilation.