respiratory distress syndrome

views updated

respiratory distress syndrome (hyaline membrane disease) n. the condition of a newborn infant in which the lungs are imperfectly expanded. Breathing is rapid, laboured, and shallow. The condition is most common and serious among preterm infants. It is treated by careful nursing, intravenous fluids, and oxygen, with or without positive-pressure ventilation. Surfactant administered at birth has produced encouraging results. See also adult respiratory distress syndrome.

More From encyclopedia.com