Evaluation of surfactant therapy in newborn infants with meconium aspiration syndrome

Objective To study the efficacy of pulmonary surfactant(PS) in the newborn infants with severe meconium aspiration syndrome(MAS).Methods 43 infants with severe MAS were divided into 2 groups,20 cases were treated with PS,23 cases were treated with usual way.Results The mean oxygenation index(OI) and arterial/alveolar oxygen tension ratio(a/APO_2) of the PS group were improved significantly after treatment.The duration of mechanical ventilation,oxygen therapy,and hospital stay was significantly shorter in the PS group than those of control group.Conclusion PS therapy may result in a rapid improvement in oxygenation ,and reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and hospitalization time of newborn infants with severe MAS.