Objectives: To describe clinical and laboratory characteristics, radiographic severity, and associated factors among neonates with respiratory distress due to hyaline membrane disease managed at Can Tho Children’s Hospital in 2024.
Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of 120 neonates with confirmed neonatal respiratory distress due to hyaline membrane disease. Inclusion required typical clinical presentation, abnormal arterial blood gas, and chest radiography consistent with hyaline membrane disease; major congenital anomalies and other causes of respiratory failure were excluded. Data were abstracted from medical records and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Severity was graded using the Silverman-Anderson score and chest X‑ray stages.
Results: Firstborn infants accounted for 57.5% and cesarean delivery for 73.3%. On admission, 90% had grunting, 87.5% cyanosis, and 97.5% chest retractions; SpO2 < 85% occurred in 90% neonates. Silverman components were abnormal in all infants. Chest radiography showed grade II hyaline membrane disease in 87.5% and grade I in 12.5%. Arterial blood gases revealed PaO2 40-59 mmHg in 87.5% and HCO3- 12-17 mEq/L in 87.5%. Most infants (87.5%) were intubated with bag‑mask ventilation at admission; all were discharged alive with recovery (100%), with no transfers or deaths recorded.
Conclusions: At this center, hyaline membrane disease predominantly affected firstborn and preterm/low‑birth‑weight infants, presented with severe hypoxemia and radiographic grade II disease, and had excellent short‑term outcomes under current management pathways. These findings underscore the importance of early recognition and standardized care bundles for hyaline membrane disease.