Surfactant therapy is associated with an increased risk of which complication?

• A. Pulmonary hemorrhage
• B. Intraventricular hemorrhage
• C. Adverse immunologic responses
• D. Systemic hypertension

Answer: (A)

Surfactant therapy can improve lung function quickly, but it can also cause acute complications during or after administration. Pulmonary hemorrhage is a recognized risk, especially in the hours after dosing or with bolus instillation in infants with fragile lungs or when high ventilatory pressures are used. It may present as sudden desaturation, increased oxygen needs, or blood in the endotracheal tube, reflecting bleeding into the airways. The other options are not as directly tied to the procedure: intraventricular hemorrhage is more related to prematurity and overall instability, adverse immunologic responses are rare with modern preparations, and systemic hypertension is not a typical consequence of surfactant therapy.