Less invasive beractant administration in preterm infants: a pilot study

The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy and feasibility of a new, less invasive surfactant administration technique for beractant replacement using a specifically designed cannula in preterm infants born at <32 weeks of gestation and to compare short- and long-term outcomes between this approach and standard treatment, consisting of intubation, administration of surfactant and early extubation to nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

This was a single-center, prospective, open-label, non-randomized, controlled pilot study with an experimental cohort of 30 patients treated with less invasive surfactant administration and a retrospective control group comprising the 30 patients most recently treated with the standard approach. Beractant (4 ml/kg) was administered as an exogenous surfactant in both groups if patients on nasal continuous positive airway pressure during the first three days of life were in need of more than 30% FiO2. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02611284.

In the group with less invasive surfactant administration, beractant was successfully administered in all patients. Thirteen patients (43.3%) in the group with less invasive surfactant administration required invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 1 hour during the first 3 days of life, compared with 22 (73%) in the control group (p<0.036). The rate of requiring invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours was similar between the infants in the two groups (46% vs. 40%, respectively). There were no differences in other outcomes.

The administration of beractant (4 ml/kg) using a less invasive surfactant administration technique with a specifically designed cannula for administration is feasible. Moreover, early invasive mechanical ventilation exposure is significantly reduced by this method compared with the strategy involving intubation, surfactant administration and early extubation.