Absence of long term pulmonary sequelae after mild meconium aspiration syndrome.

To assess residual damage from meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), we studied 12 children, ages 6 to 9 years, an average of 7.4 years after injury. Our sample consisted of mildly affected patients, only one having required intubation and mechanical ventilation in the acute phase of illness. In each child we measured FVC, FEV1, PEFR, MMEFR, VisoV, lung volumes by plethysmography, DLCO and calculated FEV1/FVC and RV/TLC. Methacholine bronchial challenge was performed and the PD20 was calculated. These results were compared with those obtained from a group of 12 normal children studied in our laboratory. No significant difference was found for pulmonary function parameters studied, except for VisoV which was greater in MAS patients than normals (P less than 0.02). Given the inherent high degree of variability with VisoV, we were not able to ascribe this isolated finding to be indicative of small airway disease in these asymptomatic patients. We conclude that patients with mild to moderate initial insult from MAS show an absence of pulmonary sequelae when tested at an average of 7.4 years of age.