Surfactant treatment of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome

: The present status of surfactant treatment of preterm babies suffering from respiratory distress syndrome is reviewed, with special emphasis on data from the European Collaborative Multicenter Study Group which used porcine surfactant (Curosurf). Treatment with this surfactant reduced neonatal mortality by 40%. In the treated group the percentage of survivors with no bronchopulmonary dysplasia was more than twice the percentage in the control group. The authors also report experience from the first eight patients treated with surfactant (Curosurf) in Norway. The Norwegian results, although collected from a small study group, conform well with the results reported from the Collaborative European Multicenter Study Group.