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Original Article
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Volume 353:13-22 July 7, 2005 Number 1
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Inhaled Nitric Oxide for Premature Infants with Severe Respiratory Failure
Krisa P. Van Meurs, M.D., Linda L. Wright, M.D., Richard A. Ehrenkranz, M.D., James A. Lemons, M.D., M. Bethany Ball, B.S., W. Kenneth Poole, Ph.D., Rebecca Perritt, M.S., Rosemary D. Higgins, M.D., William Oh, M.D., Mark L. Hudak, M.D., Abbot R. Laptook, M.D., Seetha Shankaran, M.D., Neil N. Finer, M.D., Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D., Kathleen A. Kennedy, M.D., M.P.H., Jon H. Fridriksson, M.D., Robin H. Steinhorn, M.D., Gregory M. Sokol, M.D., G. Ganesh Konduri, M.D., Judy L. Aschner, M.D., Barbara J. Stoll, M.D., Carl T. D'Angio, M.D., David K. Stevenson, M.D., for the Preemie Inhaled Nitric Oxide Study

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 by Martin, R. J.
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ABSTRACT

Background Inhaled nitric oxide is a controversial treatment for premature infants with severe respiratory failure. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, blinded, controlled trial to determine whether inhaled nitric oxide reduced the rate of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia in such infants.

Methods We randomly assigned 420 neonates, born at less than 34 weeks of gestation, with a birth weight of 401 to 1500 g, and with respiratory failure more than four hours after treatment with surfactant to receive placebo (simulated flow) or inhaled nitric oxide (5 to 10 ppm). Infants with a response (an increase in the partial pressure of arterial oxygen of more than 10 mm Hg) were weaned according to protocol. Treatment with study gas was discontinued in infants who did not have a response.

Results The rate of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia was 80 percent in the nitric oxide group, as compared with 82 percent in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.86 to 1.06; P=0.52), and the rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was 60 percent versus 68 percent (relative risk, 0.90; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.75 to 1.08; P=0.26). There were no significant differences in the rates of severe intracranial hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia. Post hoc analyses suggest that rates of death and bronchopulmonary dysplasia are reduced for infants with a birth weight greater than 1000 g, whereas infants weighing 1000 g or less who are treated with inhaled nitric oxide have higher mortality and increased rates of severe intracranial hemorrhage.

Conclusions The use of inhaled nitric oxide in critically ill premature infants weighing less than 1500 g does not decrease the rates of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Further trials are required to determine whether inhaled nitric oxide benefits infants with a birth weight of 1000 g or more.


Source Information

From Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif. (K.P.V.M., M.B.B., D.K.S.); the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, Md. (L.L.W., R.D.H.); Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. (R.A.E.); Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis (J.A.L., G.M.S.); Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, N.C. (W.K.P., R.P.); Women's and Infant's Hospital, Providence, R.I. (W.O., A.R.L.); University of Florida, Jacksonville (M.L.H.); Wayne State University, Detroit (S.S.); University of California at San Diego, San Diego (N.N.F.); University of Alabama, Birmingham (W.A.C.); University of Texas at Houston, Houston (K.A.K.); College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati (J.H.F.); Northwestern University, Chicago (R.H.S.); Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (G.G.K.); Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. (J.L.A.); Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta (B.J.S.); and University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. (C.T.D.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Van Meurs at the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 750 Welch Rd., Suite 315, Palo Alto, CA 94304, or at vanmeurs{at}stanford.edu.

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Related Letters:

Inhaled Nitric Oxide
Dani C., Bertini G., Rubaltelli F. F., Hasan S. U., Lasser E. C., Van Meurs K., Stevenson D., Schreiber M. D., Marks J. D., Mestan K. K.L., Martin R. J., Walsh M. C.
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N Engl J Med 2005; 353:1626-1628, Oct 13, 2005. Correspondence

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