surfactant therapy
Breathing disorder intervention
Surfactant therapy is a medical treatment that delivers surfactant—a substance that reduces surface tension in the lungs—to newborns with respiratory distress syndrome.
Premature infants often lack sufficient natural surfactant, causing their tiny air sacs to collapse.
The therapy, administered through a breathing tube, dramatically improved survival rates for premature babies after its introduction in the 1990s.
- neonatal careMedical support for newborns
- alveoliLung's gas-exchange chambers
- air sacsGas-exchange lung cavities
- phospholipidsLipids with phosphate groups
- premature birthDelivery before 37 weeks
hypoxemia · surface tension · critical care · pneumonia · gas exchange · cystic fibrosis · instillation · pulmonary edema · life support · clinical guidelines · lung · foam · infant · first breath · preterm · pharmacokinetics · tension · respiratory
- neonatal lungsrespiratory distress, preterm birth, premature infant, preemies, NICU
- NICUincubators, neonatologists, preemies, warmers, kangaroo care
- Newborn Lung Conditionsrespiratory distress, pneumothorax
surfactant therapymechanical ventilation
Machine-assisted breathing support