[Treatment of severe respiratory distress syndrome with surfactant].

The first Danish experience of treatment of the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in preterm infants with exogenous surfactant is described. Fifteen infants with birthweights of 645-1,865 g and gestational ages of 25-32 weeks, all receiving artificial ventilation with at least 60% oxygen for severe RDS, were treated with purified porcine surfactant (Curosurf) within the first 28 hours of life. Pulmonary function improved immediately in all of the infants.

The relation between perinatal conditions and developmental outcome in low birthweight infants. Comparison of two cohorts.

We have compared the relations between perinatal conditions and developmental outcomes at age four years for two cohorts of children with birthweights 2,300 g or less, who did not develop cerebral palsy--one from Southeastern Wisconsin (children born 1975-76) and the other from Copenhagen (children born 1980-82). We examined the general effects of parental education and socioeconomic status, the use of Cesarean section, the degree of prematurity and neonatal complications on outcome. The methods of latent path structural analysis were used to form two models among 15 latent variables: one for children from Copenhagen and a similar model for children from Wisconsin.

Status at four years of age in 280 children weighing 2,300 g or less at birth.

To assess the functional ability in low birth weight children at age 4-5, 114 survivors with very low birth weight (VLBW) less than or equal to 1,500 g, 166 survivors with birth weight 1,501-2,300g (LBW), and 115 comparison children with normal birth weight (NBW) were enrolled in a follow-up study. Twenty-four (21%) VLBW and 11 (6.6%) LBW-children had major clinical abnormalities compared to 1 (0.

Vasoparalysis associated with brain damage in asphyxiated term infants.

The relationship of cerebral blood flow to acute changes in arterial carbon dioxide and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) was determined during the first day of life in 19 severely asphyxiated term infants supported by mechanical ventilation. For comparison, 12 infants without perinatal asphyxia were also investigated. Global cerebral blood flow (CBF infinity) was determined by xenon 133 clearance two or three times within approximately 2 hours.

[Near infrared spectrophotometry--a non-invasive, continuous method for monitoring of cerebral status in newborn infants].

Hypoxic-ischaemic injury to the brain is the commonest cause of permanent neurodevelopmental disability in the very preterm and other children who survive after neonatal intensive care. Non-invasive techniques are therefore needed to examine the mechanisms of damage to the brain. Near infrared spectroscopy provides continuous cot-side information about cerebral oxygenation and metabolism in sick preterm infants by measurements of oxyhaemoglobin, deoxyhaemoglobin and oxidized cytokrom aa3.