6 Interesting Facts of Infant respiratory distress syndrome
- Caused by surfactant deficiency and almost exclusively a disease of preterm infants
- Risk of syndrome increases with decreasing gestational age (5% of near-term infants, 30% of infants at less than 30 weeks of gestation, and 60% of infants at less than 28 weeks of gestation are affected)
- Other risk factors include male sex (in White populations), perinatal asphyxia, family history of the disease in a sibling, and cesarean delivery
- Presents with worsening respiratory distress and hypoxia over hours beginning soon after birth
- Chest radiograph typically shows air bronchograms with a reticulogranular appearance or ground-glass appearance of the lungs owing to microatelectasis and poor expansion
- Differentiated by history (preterm delivery with absence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid), absence of hyperinflation on chest radiograph, and clinical course characterized by significant improvement with surfactant administration
