Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn

Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn appears very soon after birth and is often is accompanied by expiratory grunting, retractions, or cyanosis that can be relieved by a minimal amount of oxygen. Usually, recovery takes place within three days. Frequently, the syndrome is also called 'wet lung disease,' but it can also be found in medical literature under such names as retention of fetal lung fluid, retained fetal lung liquid, transient respiratory distress of the newborn, respiratory distress syndrome type II, or neonatal retained fluid syndrome. As can be seen, there are many and various names for this relatively common problem, and one must know what to look for to make such a diagnosis. Transient tachypnea of the newborn is generally defined as a small amount of liquid in the lungs of a newborn baby, or liquid that is removed from the lungs too slowly during birth and immediately after. It often results in a more rapid breathing rate for that infant until the problem is resolved. There is generally no danger with this condition, however, and it usually will clear up on its own within a few days (www.emedicine.com,2004).

During the time that a baby is still a fetus in the womb, the lungs do not expand with air but with an ultrafiltrate of the fetal serum fluid. During the birth and also sometimes after the birth, this fluid must leave the lungs to make way for the air that the baby will need to take in once it is born. Generally, the passage of the baby through the birth canal squeezes the thorax enough that much of the fluid leaves the lungs on its own. The rest is usually quickly removed by the lymphatics and the pulmonary capillaries, which work to get the remaining fluid from the lungs to make room for air. This process generally happens quite easily and naturally, and often does not need any outside assistance. However, when the liquid from the lungs is removed too slowly or does not get completely removed, transient tachypnea of the newborn can occur. It often correlates with a diminished respiratory effort or with a decreased thoracic squeeze at birth. There are various reasons for this and various ways in which this might occur. The two most common ways are sedated infants and those that are born by cesarean section. Some of the other things that might cause transient tachypnea in the newborn are asthma in the mother, macrosomia of the fetus, and labor intervals that are abnormally long (www.emedicine.com,2004).

The main symptoms of transient tachypnea of the newborn include a fast breathing rate, retractions, flaring of the nostrils, and making grunting sounds during breathing, although each baby may experience these symptoms differently, and have some symptoms but not all of them. Generally, this depends of the severity of the condition. Sometimes, however, the symptoms that come with the condition mimic those of other problems that may be more serious, and a proper diagnosis is essential. This is usually done with a chest x-ray, although there is still no real guarantee. The symptoms of transient tachypnea of the newborn, however, are generally always resolved by the baby's third day of life and therefore that is one sure way to assume that the diagnosis was correct (www.readinghospital.org,2005).