J. Lewis et Raw. Veldhuizen, SURFACTANT - CURRENT AND POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC APPLICATION IN INFANTSAND ADULTS, Journal of aerosol medicine, 9(1), 1996, pp. 143-154
Exogenous surfactant administration is currently being evaluated for t
he Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Although surfactant sup
plementation is now a routine therapy for babies born with neonatal RD
S, this treatment modality for adults does not appear to result in a p
redictable improvement in lung function as is noted in neonates. This
article will review the basic abnormalities of the surfactant system i
n patients with ARDS and contrast them with the primary surfactant def
icient state of nRDS. Various factors that have been shown to influenc
e an individual's response to exogenous surfactant will the be outline
d. Finally, potential treatment approaces for patiens with ARDS utiliz
ing exogenous surfactant mill be proposed.