Lungs surfactant insufficiency

 

🔑 Main Function of Surfactant:

• Reduces surface tension inside the alveoli.

• Helps keep the alveoli open and stable during breathing.

• Prevents alveoli from collapsing during exhalation.

Think of surfactant like soap bubbles – it keeps the walls of alveoli from sticking shut.

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🚫 What Happens When Surfactant is Insufficient?

If there’s not enough surfactant:

1. High Surface Tension

• Alveoli become unstable and tend to collapse (called atelectasis).

2. Harder to Breathe

• The lungs become stiff (low compliance), making it harder to expand during inhalation.

3. Less Oxygen Exchange

• Collapsed alveoli mean less oxygen enters the blood.

• This leads to hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the body).

4. Respiratory Distress

• The person may breathe rapidly, grunt, or flare nostrils to try to get air.

• In newborns, this is called Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (NRDS).

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🧒 Common in:

• Premature babies (especially before 32–34 weeks gestation): Their lungs haven’t made enough surfactant yet.

• Adults with lung injury, such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): surfactant can get damaged or washed away.

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🧪 Symptoms of Surfactant Deficiency:

• Difficulty breathing

• Cyanosis (bluish lips or skin)

• Low oxygen levels

• Retractions (chest wall pulling in with each breath)

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💊 Treatment:

• Surfactant replacement therapy (injected into the lungs, usually for premature infants)

• Oxygen support or mechanical ventilation

• Steroids before birth (to help mature the lungs if early delivery is expected)