Advances in the treatment of the meconium aspiration syndrome.

Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is a common cause of respiratory distress in neonates. In many affected children, the complex nature of meconium aspiration syndrome contributes to the apparent lack of response to standard therapies. Over the past decade, several new therapies have been suggested to be more effective than "conventional" management in treating meconium aspiration syndrome. These include: anti-inflammatory drugs, medications to counter the effect of prostaglandin-related compounds, high-frequency ventilation, exogenous surfactant, inhaled nitric oxide and liquid ventilation. There are, however, scant evidence-based data to justify routine use of any of those therapies. Additional prospective, well-controlled, randomized trials of diverse therapies are needed to elucidate the optimum management of MAS.