IRDS (Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome)
Alternate Names : Hyaline Membrane Disease, Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (IRDS)
DefinitionIRDS is a lung disorder that primarily affects premature infants and causes increasing difficulty in breathing. See also ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome).
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Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
Respiratory distress syndrome affects 10% of all premature infants and only rarely affects those born at full-term. The disease is caused by a lack of pulmonary surfactant, a chemical that normally appears in mature lungs.
This substance reduces the surface tension within the air sacs, keeping them from collapsing and allowing them to inflate with air more easily.
In respiratory distress syndrome, the air sacs collapse (electasis) and prevent the child from breathing properly. Symptoms usually appear shortly after birth and become progressively more severe.
Risk factors are prematurity, diabetes mellitus in the mother, and stress during delivery that produces acidosis in the newborn at birth.
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