Printed in UK- all rights reserved Copyright ©ERS Journals Ltd 1998 European Respiratory Journal

Endotracheal instillation of prostacyclin in preterm infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension A.P.M.C. De Jaegere, J.N. van den Anker aa Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a clinical syndrome, characterized by a sustained elevation of the pulmonary vascular resistance with a right-to-left shunt ac-ross the ductus arteriosus and/or the foramen ovale, caus-ing severe hypoxaemia. Although generally associated with diseases of term newborns PPH has been increasingly de-scribed in preterm infants as well [1]. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been described as an effective selective pulmo-nary vasodilator improving oxygenation in newborns inclu-ding preterm infants. However, concern over iNO relates to its potential toxicity and to difficulties in developin