[Prediction of idiopathic respiratory insufficiency using the gastric aspirate shake test]

To verify the usefulness of the gastric aspirate shake test as a predictor of idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome, we studied 110 premature newborns with respiratory failure to define the surfactant deficiency (negative test) or surfactant sufficiency (positive test). The results were correlated with definitive diagnosis at discharge. Our findings indicate that the gastric aspirate shake test has 97.5% sensitivity, 77.1% specificity 70.9% predictive value for surfactant deficiency, and 98.2% predictive value for surfactant sufficiency. Therefore it was considered useful to predict the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome. As this test is rapid, simple and inexpensive, it may be useful in primary care hospital in order to distinguish among the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome and other mild causes of respiratory failure and therefore to decide early transference to specialized hospitals.