Prevention of Hyaline Membrane Disease With Plasminogen: A Cooperative Study

In a double-blind, randomized study, 500 premature infants were treated with plasminogen or placebo intravenously within 60 minutes of birth. There was a substantial decrease in severe clinical respiratory distress, death caused by hyaline membrane disease, and total mortality in the plasminogen-treated infants as compared to the controls. ( JAMA 237:1837-1841, 1977)