OBJECTIVE: to describe the possible clinical and laboratory effects of exogenous surfactant instillation into the tracheal tube of a child with severe acute bronchiolitis undergoing mechanical ventilation. CASE REPORT: a 2-month-old girl with clinical diagnosis of acute viral bronchiolitis underwent mechanical ventilation. She required high positive inspiratory peak pressure (35 to 45 cmH2O) and high inspiratory fraction of oxygen (FiO2 = 0.9), but showed no clinical response or improvement in the arterial blood gas analysis. An exogenous surfactant (Exosurf®, Glaxo - 50 mg/kg) was used to facilitate the use of a less aggressive ventilatory strategy. RESULTS: four hours after surfactant administration, it was possible to reduce the positive peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) from 35 to 30 cmH2O, and FiO2 from 0.9 to 0.6; and to increase the positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) from 6 to 9 cmH2O. During this period the paO2/FiO2 ratio increased from 120 to 266. At the end of 24 hours, FiO2 could be reduced to 0.4. DISCUSSION: surfactant inactivation may be a decisive factor in the unfavorable evolution of some severe cases of acute bronchiolitis. The tracheal instillation of exogenous surfactant, in these cases, allows us to adopt less aggressive ventilatory strategies, and promotes rapid clinical responses.
bronchiolitis; respiratory insufficiency; artificial respiration; intensive care
