A medication used to reduce fluid retention can also safely be used to prevent a dangerous lung condition that affects newborns, particularly those born premature, according to a new study.
Furosemide (Lasix) — which can reduce excess fluid in the body caused by heart failure, liver disease, and kidney trouble — is commonly used off-label to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a disorder that causes irritation and poor development of lungs in premature infants. But until now, researchers have not studied its safety in this setting.
BPD often affects babies born more than 2 months early and can sometimes result in breathing difficulties into adolescence and young adulthood.
Dr Rachel Greenberg
"There are so few drugs that have been tested for newborns and there are very little data to help neonatologists decide if certain medications are safe and effective," said Rachel Greenberg, MD, MHS, a neonatologist and member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina. "We found there was no greater risk of safety events for newborns given furosemide."
Greenberg presented the findings at the 2022 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver.
For the 28-day randomized controlled trial, Greenberg and colleagues enrolled 80 preterm newborns, born at less than 29 weeks' gestation, at 17 centers within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Pediatric Trials Network.
