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Introduction: Proceedings of the First International Conference for Meconium Aspiration Syndrome and Meconium-induced Lung Injury

Journal of Perinatology volume 28, pages S1–S2 (2008)Cite this article

The history of the word ‘meconium’ holds interest for all of us involved in perinatal care. It is believed that Aristotle coined this term, which has been anglicized to mean ‘opium like.’ As opium is derived from poppy seeds and when processed the resulting poppy seed sludge is black and tarry the word was an appropriate description.

Meconium-stained amniotic fluid occurs in approximately 13% of live births. Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) occurs in 5 to 10% of infants born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid. When MAS occurs, there is an increase in neonatal mortality and morbidity. Great progress has been made in the improvement of survival of infants with MAS. Great progress in management has been made since first description of the pathophysiology and poor outcome of infants with MAS in 1975.1 These include improved intrapartum and post-delivery management of MAS. Although there is a significant decrease in the occurrence of MAS and associated mortality in developed countries MAS remains a major problem in developing countries.

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References

  1. Vidyasagar D, Harris V, Pildes RS . Assisted ventilation in infants with meconium aspiration syndrome Pediatrics 1975; 56 (2): 208–213.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the authors for their patience and for their cooperation. We also thank the reviewers for their diligent efforts. And special thanks to the editorial staff Ms Sandy Skelley for her valuable efforts in making this project a success. We gratefully acknowledge the grant support from, iNO therapeutics, and the NIH for enabling us to conduct the symposium and The Thrasher Foundation and the Perinatal Section of AAP for their support to publish this Supplement.

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  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 South Wood Street, Chicago, 60517, IL, USA

    D Vidyasagar

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  1. G I Martin
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  2. D Vidyasagar
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Correspondence to D Vidyasagar.

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D Vidyasagar has received grant support from INO Therapeutics and NIH. GI Martin has declared no financial interests.

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Martin, G., Vidyasagar, D. Introduction: Proceedings of the First International Conference for Meconium Aspiration Syndrome and Meconium-induced Lung Injury. J Perinatol 28 (Suppl 3), S1–S2 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2008.176

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2008.176

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