PRACTICE OF SURFACTANT REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS: RESULTS OF AN ONLINE-SURVEY OF PHYSICIAN SPECIALISTS

In order to analyze the variability in the clinical practice of surfactant use in newborn infants, a web-based survey consisting of 11 questions was developed and conducted. Eighty-five specialists (neonatologists and pediatric anesthesiologists-resuscitators) participated in the survey. In most cases (63 specialists, 74.1 %), surfactant replacement therapy is performed outside the delivery or operating room, preferably through an endotracheal tube with subsequent, if possible, rapid extubation (79 specialists, 92.9 %). Among the main reasons for the unpopularity of minimally invasive methods of surfactant administration, the leading positions are: lack of special catheters (35 specialists, 41.2 %) and lack of experience in the use of these methods (34 specialists, 40.0 %). Regarding the practice of surfactant use beyond RDS, 54 interviewed specialists (63.5 %) responded that they use surfactant in term newborns with secondary surfactant deficiency.