Surfactant therapy of pulmonary conditions excluding those with primary surfactant deficiency and bronchoscopy as delivery method: an overview of Russian patents and publications.

Preparations of pulmonary surfactant are used for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in a newborn. Their applicability as a method of routine for lung diseases beyond the neonatal period is questionable. Some publications from the former Soviet Union (SU) have reported on successful surfactant therapy of ARDS in children and adults as well as for inhalation injuries, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. Bronchoscopy was used and recommended as a method of surfactant delivery for ARDS, some types of pneumonia and tuberculosis. Manufacturing processes of surfactant preparations from bovine lung and amniotic fluid, described by Russian patents, and bronchoscopy as a delivery mode are discussed here. A concluding point is that some reports from the former SU about administration of exogenous surfactant in pulmonary conditions, excluding those with primary surfactant deficiency, are only partly confirmed by the international literature.