Infant respiratory distress syndrome

Infant respiratory distress syndrome
Other names	Respiratory distress syndrome of newborn, neonatal respiratory distress syndrome[1]
Chest X-ray of a case of IRDS, with fine granular opacities, air bronchograms and bell-shaped thorax
Specialty	Pediatrics, obstetrics

Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD),^[2] and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfactant production and structural immaturity in the lungs. It can also be a consequence of neonatal infection and can result from a genetic problem with the production of surfactant-associated proteins.^[3][4]

IRDS affects about 1% of newborns and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants.^[5] Data have shown the choice of elective caesarean sections to strikingly increase the incidence of respiratory distress in term infants; dating back to 1995, the UK first documented 2,000 annual caesarean section births requiring neonatal admission for respiratory distress.^[6] The incidence decreases with advancing gestational age, from about 50% in babies born at 26–28 weeks to about 25% at 30–31 weeks. The syndrome is more frequent in males, Caucasians, infants of diabetic mothers and the second-born of premature twins.^[7]

IRDS is distinct from pulmonary hypoplasia, another leading cause of neonatal death that involves respiratory distress.^{[citation needed]}

The European Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Respiratory Distress Syndrome highlight new possibilities for early detection, and therefore treatment of IRDS.^[8] The guidelines mention an easy to use rapid point-of-care predictive test that is now available^[9] and how lung ultrasound, with appropriate training, expertise and equipment, may offer an alternative way of diagnosing IRDS early.^[10]