RDS

Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), also known as Hyaline Membrane Disease, can lead to serious complications and is one of the most common causes of neonatal mortality. The underlying cause of RDS is now understood to be a deficiency in alveolar surfactant in the premature lung. Infants of less than 32 weeks gestation are primarily affected. There are approximately 50,000 premature infants at risk for RDS born each year in the United States.¹

The clinical signs of RDS include, but are not exclusive to:

Dyspnea (difficulty in breathing)
Tachynea (rapid breathing)
Nasal flaring
Expiratory grunt
Chest recession (subcostal, intercostal, suprasternal)

The resulting symptoms include, but are not exclusive to:

Severe hypoxia (inadequate oxygen supply to tissues to maintain normal respiration)
Hyperventilation
Respiratory acidosis (acidosis resulting from inadequate elimination of CO₂ from the lungs)

Currently, RDS is treated with only natural (animal-derived) lung surfactants. There are three surfactants available in the United States. Curosurf (poractant alfa) Intratracheal Suspension was introduced by DEY, L.P. to the U.S. market in July 2000. It is the only porcine derived surfactant. The other two products, Survanta ^® (beractant) and Infasurf ^® (calfactant), are bovine derived.