Neurodevelopmental and respiratory outcome in early childhood after human surfactant treatment.

We assessed postnatal growth, neurodevelopmental outcome, and occurrence of respiratory illnesses in 46 infants of very low birth weight who were enrolled in a randomized, controlled, bicenter clinical trial of human surfactant treatment for respiratory distress syndrome. No long-term adverse effects of human surfactant treatment were detected between control and human surfactant-treated infants with respect to growth, neurologic, or developmental outcome. Infants with chronic lung disease, regardless of treatment group, had poorer growth and were more likely to have neurodevelopmental abnormalities at 12 to 24 months of age.