Born after just 24 weeks of gestation and weighing only 1lb 8oz., Lewis Goodfellow was a premature baby. Worse, one of his lungs failed so he was unable to get enough oxygen into his bloodstream. Things became so dire for this infant that the family began to make funeral arrangements.
However, doctors at the Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary in the UK then decided to try an experiment that might save the baby's life: Viagra (Sildenafil). Viagra is more commonly associated with male impotence, but it works by opening up small blood vessels in the body. Doctors hoped it would do the same for the capillaries in the baby's lungs.
"They were just clutching at straws basically. They explained it was experimental and may not have any effect at all," said the mother. "Doctors said he couldn't be given any more oxygen."
"The problem we see in premature babies with breathing difficulties is although we can blow oxygen into their lungs to help them, there isn't enough blood supply to various areas of the lungs to take the oxygen around the rest of the body," said Alan Fenton, consultant neonatologist at the hospital. "What Sildenafil does is open up the blood vessels so they can capture the oxygen and take it around the body."
It worked, and the baby began to thrive. The parents, Jade Goodfellow and John Barclay, from Walker, Newcastle, believe the drug saved his life.
"I don't think you could put into words how we feel," said his mother. "The doctors are worth their weight in gold. We admire each and every one of them for what they have done."
Cited story.
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Comments
How extraordinary - at last an alternative use that has real benefits.
Cheers
Posted by: mcewen | February 16, 2007 7:58 PM
It's amazing they thought to use the drug for that purpose. I'm sure they thoroughly documented so others will learn of it.
Posted by: Scooter | February 17, 2007 1:29 AM
Sildenafil is also being used to treat pulmonary hypertension in infants. For example, see this link:
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=3193
(BTW, I was having a heck of a time trying to submit this comment until I realized that I was using the trade name for the drug and the spam filter kept blocking me!)
Posted by: Kurt | February 17, 2007 1:59 AM
Two points:
"The doctors are worth their weight in gold. We admire each and every one of them for what they have done."
It's sadly rare that people credit the doctors directly after a life-saving medical event. Good for these parents, though, and congratulations again to the medical team.
"The problem we see in premature babies with breathing difficulties is although we can blow oxygen into their lungs to help them, there isn't enough blood supply to various areas of the lungs to take the oxygen around the rest of the body," said Alan Fenton...
Maybe I read too much science fiction - but surely someone is at least working on a blood-oxygenation machine? Why can't we remove blood from the body, inject oxygen into it (assuming it has the capacity in the form of haemoglobin), and return it to the body? Is there some analogy that can be drawn here with kidney dialysis?
Posted by: TheBrummell | February 17, 2007 6:48 PM
I was right!
A newborn with pneumonia was saved by passing blood through a dialysis machine and an artificial lung to provide oxygen.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/02/16/lung-baby-porcher.html
It seems the necessary equipment is rare and complicated, so this procedure can't be performed at every hospital.
Posted by: TheBrummell | February 19, 2007 9:10 AM