[Tracheal phospholipid composition and respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn].

Tracheal or pharyngeal aspirates were collected in 50 newborn infants with and without respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). After lipid extraction the phospholipids were analyzed with 2-dimensional thin layer chromatography. Surface-active are lecithin (PC), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and phosphatidylinositol (PI). Newborn infants with RDS always have a complete lack of PG, which makes up to 11% of phospholipid-phosphors in mature newborns. In all infants with and without RDS, a sharp increase of PC occurs in the lung effluent after birth. The recovery from RDS is characterized by marked changes of PI: this phospholipid rises up to twice its initial value if the infants survive. The PI-increase parallels the clinical improvement and reaches its maximum usually on the 5th day of life. At the time of the PI-peak, the infants' surfactant function is sufficient to maintain alveolar stability with spontaneous breathing. In infants dying from RDS the PI-increase was not observed.