Abstract
Passage of meconium in utero and subsequent pulmonary aspiration of meconium admixed with amniotic fluid is a major cause of neonatal respiratory distress. Airway clearance is the first defense of the lung, and clearance is dependent on the bulk physical (rheologic) as well as the surface properties of airway material. We therefore evaluated the surface adhesive properties and the transport properties of freshly passed meconium and of two dilutions of reconstituted, blended, meconium as used to mimic the effect of meconium passage into the amniotic fluid in animal models of meconium aspiration syndrome. Reconstituted and fresh meconium had similar physical and transport properties, including an extremely high interfacial (adhesion) tension and very poor transportability by either airflow or cilia. The similarities between the freshly passed and reconstituted meconium suggest that the latter is an adequate substitute for use in animal models of meconium aspiration syndrome. The high adhesiveness of meconium suggests a potential role for surfactant administration as an adhesive to improve airway clearance after meconium aspiration.
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Abbreviations
- MCTR:
-
mucociliary transportability
- CTR:
-
cough (airflow) transportability
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the laboratory and Nursery staff from Kapiolani Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, and the St. Louis University Division of Neonatology for help in collection and processing of meconium. We also thank Kuuleialoha C. Finn, Ph.D., and Susan Pelke, R.N., of Kapiolani Medical Center for assistance with manuscript preparation and Titik Dian and Oscar Ramirez, M.D., of St. Louis University for helping with the meconium analysis.
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Rubin, B., Tomkiewicz, R., Patrinos, M. et al. The Surface and Transport Properties of Meconium and Reconstituted Meconium Solutions. Pediatr Res 40, 834–838 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199612000-00010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199612000-00010
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