Introduction:

Pulmonary surfactants, together with other therapeutic measures, constitute a treatment of choice for various respiratory conditions.

Objective:

To demonstrate the safety of the treatment with Surfacen® in acute respiratory distress syndrome in children.

Material and Methods:

A multicenter, open, controlled, randomized Phase III clinical trial with two treatment groups. Group A received conventional oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation combined with Surfacen® at a dosage of 100 mg every eight hours for three days. Group B received conventional treatment. Children 28 days of life to 18 years of age, of either sex, with the diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome were included. The occurrence of adverse events, intensity, attitude followed after the appearance, outcome, and relationship between causality and mortality at day 28 were identified and quantified.

Results:

A total of 42 children were included: twenty children in group A and twenty-two ones in group B. In group A, 23 adverse events were reported in nine patients, while 97 adverse events were reported in 18 patients from group B. Hypertension was the most frequent adverse event. In group A, 73.9 % of adverse events of severe intensity were reported, 86.9 % remained unchanged after the administration of the drug, and 73.9 % had a remote causality with respect to the surfactant. Mortality at day 28 was 41.5 %; 20 % in group A, and 62 % in group B.

Conclusions:

Surfacen® was safe and well tolerated since a small number of adverse events related to its administration were reported.

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