Respiratory Distress Syndrome - Signs, Symptoms, and Complications - Signs, Symptoms, and Complications

Signs and symptoms of RDS include:

• Grunting sounds
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Sharp pulling inward of the muscles between the ribs when breathing
• Widening of the nostrils, or flaring, with each breath

The newborn also may have pauses in breathing that last for a few seconds. This condition is called apnea.

Many babies who are born with RDS develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). If babies born with RDS still require oxygen therapy by the time they reach their original due dates, they are diagnosed with BPD.

Depending on the severity of a newborn's RDS, he or she may develop other medical problems.

• Bleeding in the brain, which can delay cognitive development or cause intellectual disabilities or cerebral palsy
• Blood and blood vessel complications. Newborns who have RDS may develop sepsis . This infection can be life threatening.
• Bowel disease called necrotizing enterocolitis
• Impaired vision, including blindness
• Kidney failure
• Lung complications. These may include atelectasis; leakage of air from the lung into the chest cavity, called pneumothorax, a type of pleural disorder; and bleeding in the lung, or hemorrhage. Some of the life-saving treatments used for RDS may cause bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
• Patent ductus arteriosus, a type of congenital heart defect. The ductus arteriosus connects pulmonary arteries to the aorta. If it remains open, it can strain the heart and increase blood pressure in the lung arteries.