Introduction: Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) is the most frequent pathology in prematures <1500 g. Mechanical ventilation and surfactant therapy decreased the mortality of these newborns but raised the number of those with neurological disorders. The aim was to examine the influence of surfactant therapy on cerebral blood flow (CBF) parameters in infants treated with surfactant or ventilated with nazal-CPAP. Materials and methods: We monitorized with Doppler-ultrasound the variations of CBF velocities related to variations of hemodynamic and blood-gas parameters in 40 prematures with RDS during 01.01.2006 - 01.07.2009, treated with surfactant or non ivasive ventilation (CPAP). Results: We found that systolic velocities raised and diastolic ones decreased dramatically after surfactant administration, while infants with CPAP had more stable parameters, showing no significant difference compared to the control group. Concluzions: CBF parameters change dramatically after surfactant administration, while they are more stable in babies with gentle ventilation, due to their intact cerebral autoregulation.
Keywords: respiratory distress syndrome, Doppler-ultrasonography, prematurity, surfactant, non ivasive ventilation