Optimising the management of respiratory distress in late preterm and early term babies

Respiratory distress is a common reason for neonatal unit admission in late preterm and early term infants. These babies are also more likely than their full-term counterparts to experience long-term respiratory problems. A lack of research in this large group of babies has led to very wide variation in clinical practice, which may affect outcomes. The SurfON multicentre trial is investigating whether early administration of surfactant, when compared to expectant management, reduces the length of neonatal hospital stay and reduces the progression to more severe respiratory illness for late preterm and early term babies with respiratory distress.

Elaine M Boyle¹
Professor of Neonatal Medicine
eb124@le.ac.uk

Charles C Roehr^2,3
Professor of Neonatology and Perinatal Research
On behalf of the SurfON Study co-investigators and colleagues at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit Clinical Trials Unit (TABLE 1)

¹Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester
²National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford