Neurodevelopmental and respiratory outcome in early childhood after human surfactant treatment
Y. E. Vaucher, T. A. Merritt, M. Hallman, A. L. Jarvenpaa, A. M. Telsey and B. L. Jones
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego.
We assessed postnatal growth, neurodevelopmental outcome, and occurrence of
respiratory illnesses in 46 infants of very low birth weight who were
enrolled in a randomized, controlled, bicenter clinical trial of human
surfactant treatment for respiratory distress syndrome. No long-term
adverse effects of human surfactant treatment were detected between control
and human surfactant-treated infants with respect to growth, neurologic, or
developmental outcome. Infants with chronic lung disease, regardless of
treatment group, had poorer growth and were more likely to have
neurodevelopmental abnormalities at 12 to 24 months of age.
