Inhaled nitric oxide.

Inhaled NO offers a novel therapy for the treatment of pulmonary hypertensive diseases and the symptomatic relief of hypoxemia. The use of iNO reduces the necessity for ECMO in newborns and infants with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Proper indications, contraindications, dosing criteria, and implications of the toxic actions of NO must be delineated fully. Randomized clinical trials of patients with carefully defined, specific acute disease states that are characterized by pulmonary hypertension or hypoxemia have not been completed.