Post by @nicueducator.lisa

RDS versus TTN. The age old NICU question. For some babies, this is quite obvious, but for others we need to drill into the details. Often, these babies can look very similar at first. Both may be tachypneic, grunting, retracting, and need oxygen or CPAP. But the reason they are struggling to breathe is very different. With RDS, or respiratory distress syndrome, the main problem is surfactant deficiency or dysfunction. Surfactant helps keep the alveoli open at the end of expiration. Without enough of it, those tiny air sacs want to collapse, the lungs become less compliant, and the baby has to work much harder to maintain lung volume and exchange oxygen. With TTN, or transient tachypnea of the newborn, the issue is not primarily surfactant. The baby still has excess fetal lung fluid that has not cleared as quickly as expected after birth. That fluid temporarily makes effective gas exchange more difficult, so the baby compensates by breathing faster. Quick takeaway: RDS=too little surfactant 🫁 TTN= too much fluid 💦 Questions? Let me know below! #nurses #nursingvideos #nicu #nicuawarenessmonth #fyp