Surfactant administration in severe inhalation injury: case report

Inhalation injury is one of the main causes of death in patients with severe burns. Administration of exogenous surfactant appears promising for the treatment of acute respiratory failure. We report our clinical experience with this approach. A 35 yr-old man was admitted to our burns unit after an industrial accident. He had sustained a 60% total body surface area full-thickness burn combined with severe inhalation injury. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy confirmed the diagnosis, demonstrating severe blisters and ulcers of the bronchial mucosa. Refractory hypoxaemia (PaO (2)/FiO (2)56 mm Hg, where PaO (2)is oxygen tension in arterial blood and FiO (2)is the fraction of inspired oxygen) was treated with optimal mechanical ventilatory support; additionally, an initial dose of natural bovine surfactant (Alveofact) of 50 mg/kg body weight was administered by intrabronchial instillation on day 3 postburn. A significant improvement in oxygenation was observed 12 h after administration (from 56 mm Hg initially to 194 mm Hg), followed by an improvement in dynamic compliance (from 26 ml/cm H (2)O initially to 41 ml/cm H (2)O) and inspiratory resistance (from 14 cm H (2)O/lps initially to 11 cm H (2)O/lps). The same dose of surfactant was repeated 48 h later to prevent potential deterioration, resulting in maintenance of gas exchange and lung mechanics at the above levels. No complication associated with the surfactant administration was observed. However, the patient died on day 9 post-burn owing to extrapulmonary causes. Our results demonstrate a significant improvement in gas exchange and lung mechanics in a burn patient with severe inhalation injury after repeated administration of exogenous surfactant. Further study is needed in order to elucidate the clinical impact of surfactant administration and the complications associated with its use in cases of inhalation injury.