Respiratory Distress Syndrome ✅ Flashcards
What is the most common lung problem accompanying prematurity?
Respiratory distress syndrome
What can RDS lead to?
Severe respiratory failure and death
What causes RDS?
Surfactant deficiency
How does surfactant deficiency lead to RDS?
It leads to higher surface tension at the alveolar surface, difficulty in achieving adequate functional residual capacity, and interferes with the normal exchange of respiratory gases
What is the incidence and severity of RDS related to?
Inversely proportional to gestational age
Why is the incidence and severity of RDS inversely proportional to gestational age?
Because of the smaller number of functional alveoli with decreasing gestational age
Other than surfactant deficiency, what problems are there with premature infants lungs?
The airways are incompletely formed and lack sufficient cartilage to remain patent
What does the incomplete formation of airways and lack of cartilage in premature infants contribute to?
Collapse of lungs and increased airway resistance
What is the result of the higher surface tension in RDS?
Greater distending pressure is required to inflate the alveoli
What law describes the concept of higher surface tension requiring greater distending pressure to inflate the alveoli?
Laplace’s law
What is Laplace’s law?
P = 2T/r
P = pressure T = surface tension r = radius
How does the compliance of the lungs compare to that of the chest wall in a preterm infant?
The compliance of the chest wall is greater than that of the lungs
What is the result of the compliance of the chest wall being greater than that of the lungs in a newborn infant?
The lungs tend to collapse when the infant attempts to increase negative intrathoracic pressure
What functional abnormalities contribute to respiratory failure in preterm newborns?
- Decreased compliance
- Increased resistance
- Ventilation-perfusion imbalance
- Impaired gas exchange
- Increased work of breathing
What cells are involved with pulmonary surfactant?
Type 2 epithelial cells
What is the role of type 2 epithelial cells with regard to pulmonary surfactant?
They synthesise and secrete it into alevelar spaces
What is pulmonary surfactant made up of?
- Phospholipids (85%)
- Proteins (10%)
What do most of the phospholipids in pulmonary surfactant consist of?
Polyphatidylcholine (PC)
What molecule of PC is particularly important in pulmonary surfactant?
DPPC (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine)
Why is DPPC important in pulmonary surfactant?
The structure of DPPC is suited to form a stable monolayer generating the lower surface tension required to prevent alveolar collapse at end-expiration
Do phospholipids alone exhibit all the biophysical properties of pulmonary surfactant?
No
What, alongside phospholipids, gives pulmonary surfactant its biophysical probelms?
The low-molecular weight surfactant specific SP-B and SP-C proteins
What is the role of SP-B and SP-C?
- Contribute to structural organisation and functional durability
- Promote rapid absorption of phospholipids at the air-liquid interface
- Account for sustained low surface tension activity after dynamic compression