Rau's Pharmacology for Respiratory Care - Ch 10 Questions and Answers(A+ Solution guide)

What is the main role of a surfactant? - Surfactants decrease the surface tension in alveoli What law of physics are surfactants based off of? - Laplace's Law What are the two clinical uses for surfactants? - Prevention of RDS in infants with very low birth weight or immature lungs; As a rescue treatment in infants who have developed RDS What is RDS? - Respiratory distress syndrome What is an exogenous surfactant? - A surfactant prepared outside the patients own body. What is an endogenous surfactant? - Surfactant that a person's body makes on its own. Name the three approved exogenous surfactants - Beractant (Survanta), Calfactant (Infasurf), Poractant alfa (Curosurf) What is the major stimulus for surfactant secretion? - lung inflation What alveolar cell type creates surfactant? - type-II Percent of surfactant taken back into alveolar type-II cells during recycling activity? - 90% How is natural surfactant obtained? - Alveolar wash How is exogenous surfactant administered? - Direct instillation into the trachea