Evaluation of the role of postnatal ambroxol in the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm neonates.

OBJECTIVE to study the effect of the postnatal administration of Ambroxol in the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm neonates at risk and on the severity of the disease in those neonates already suffering from it. METHODS the study was a randomized clinical trial performed on 120 preterm neonates admitted to the neonatal unit of the Suez Canal University Hospital, Egypt, with gestational age of 28 to 34 weeks. It was performed in the period from September 2001 through March 2003. Half of the enrolled neonates received intravenous ambroxol (20 mg/kg/d), while the control group received the routine management of prematurity and a placebo. RESULTS Ambroxol decreased the incidence of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), improved the gas exchange, and decreased Continious Positive Airway pressure (CPAP) pressure, the length of mechanical ventilation and also the mortality rate. CONCLUSION the study concluded that Ambroxol reduced the incidence of this disease in preterm neonates at risk of developing it, and improved the clinical course of RDS.