All issues > Volume 52(10); 2009

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(10):1175-1180. Published online October 15, 2009.

A case of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn: Treatment with inhaled iloprost

Yoon Young YY Jang¹, Hye Jin HJ Park¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea

Correspondence Hye Jin HJ Park ,Email: grapfarm@hanmail.net

Abstract

We report a case of a full-term neonate with persistent pulmonary hypertension who developed asphyxia after birth and was treated with iloprost. The neonate had persistent hypoxia and did not respond to supportive treatment. Because inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) was not available in our hospital, inhaled iloprost was administered via an endotracheal tube. This resulted in an immediate elevation of oxygen saturation. Echocardiography revealed the conversion of the right- to-left ductal shunt to the left-to-right one and a decrease of the right ventricular pressure. The use of inhaled iloprost did not cause any significant side effects. Here, we describe our experience where iloprost was used in a neonate with persistent pulmonary hypertension because the standard therapy with inhaled nitric oxide was not available.

Keywords :Persistent fetal circulation syndrome, Iloprost