Treatment of severe hyaline membrane disease with surfactant (Curosurf). A collaborative clinical study.

We investigated the clinical efficacy of a new surfactant product, Curosurf, isolated from porcine lungs by liquid-gel chromatography. Ten premature newborn infants (birth weight 850-1850 g), all ventilated artificially for severe hyaline membrane disease categorized radiologically as stage III-IV, received a single dose of Curosurf (200 mg/kg) via the tracheal tube. This treatment resulted in a rapid improvement of oxygenation, similar to that observed by other teams collaborating in the study and, in an astonishingly fast resolution of the radiological changes. In comparison with a control group of 8 infants, the surfactant-treated babies also had a lower incidence of acute and chronic complications.