ABSTRACT
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is an acute illness, usually of preterm infants, developing within 4-6 hours of birth, characterized by a rapid respiratory rate (60 breaths/min), respiratory distress (intercostal, subcostal and sternal retraction or indrawing), expiratory grunting and cyanosis. In very prematurely born infants (less than 26 weeks of gestation) it may present as apnea at birth, in which case the characteristic clinical features described above will be absent. On the chest radiograph, there is a typical appearance of reticulogranular mottling with air bronchograms, but in severe cases the lungs may be completely white due to fluid retention in the airspaces and widespread atelectasis (the so-called ‘white-out’ picture). The basic etiology of RDS is surfactant deficiency.
