Elevated surfactant protein D levels are associated with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and poor outcomes in children with acute respiratory failure, according to results published in Chest.

Elevated surfactant protein D in serum or plasma is associated with both acute and chronic lung injury in adults and is considered to be a relatively specific indicator of injury in the lung, Mary K. Dahmer, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric critical care medicine in the department of pediatrics and associate fellowship director for research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues wrote.

Adult studies have shown that surfactant protein D is associated with ARDS and with poor outcome in patients with ARDS. In pediatrics, elevated serum surfactant protein D has been reported to be associated with respiratory distress syndrome in neonates.

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