Surfactant therapy for bronchiolitis in critically ill infants.

Bronchiolitis is one of the most frequent causes of respiratory failure in infants; some infants will require intensive care and mechanical ventilation. There is lack of evidence regarding effective treatment for bronchiolitis other than supportive care. Abnormalities of surfactant quantity or quality (or both) have been observed in severe cases of bronchiolitis. Exogenous surfactant administration appears to favourably change the haemodynamics of the lungs and may be a potentially promising therapy for severe bronchiolitis. This is an update of a review published in Issue 9, 2012. We did not identify any new studies for inclusion, and our conclusions remain unchanged.