Patient selection: neonate with meconium aspiration syndrome
Predictors for neonatal ventilation:
(1) fetal tachycardia
(2) interval from meconium detection to delivery
(3) low 5-minute Apgar score
(4) respiratory distress requiring intubation in the delivery suite
(5) delivery by cesarean section
Predictors of prolonged ventilation:
(1) ominous fetal heart rate tracing
(2) umbilical arterial pH < 7.2
(3) macrosomia (birth weight > 90th percentile)
(4) nulliparity
(5) Apgar > 4 at 1 minute
(6) Apgar <= 6 at 5 minutes
where:
• The risk factors of Apgar > 4 at 1 minute and <= 6 minutes at 5 minutes need to be resolved.
