title: Lucinactant for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in neonates.
abstract: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in premature neonates. This syndrome is caused by a lack of endogenous surfactant production in the lungs. Surfactant replacement was established as a safe and effective treatment in the 1990s and has become the standard of care for these infants. Surfactant products are either protein-free synthetic phospholipid compounds or animal-derived lung preparations. Currently, about 90,000 infants a year receive treatment with one of the commercially available animal-derived surfactants. Lucinactant (Surfaxin®) is a new synthetic surfactant with a pulmonary surfactant-associated protein B mimic that recently received FDA approval. The clinical trials that have been performed, although underpowered, may indicate that lucinactant is superior to phospholipid synthetic surfactant preparations and at least as effective as animal-derived surfactants in reducing morbidity and mortality from RDS. This review summarizes the current clinical knowledge about lucinactant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Piehl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Bustamante
mesh_terms: D004338:Drug Combinations; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011506:Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols; D011506:Proteins; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; C502722:lucinactant