Abstract
SummaryNewborn babies who develop the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) have reduced amounts of lung surfactant, shown by a low lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio. Twins, especially second-born twins, are more likely to suffer from RDS than singleton babies.Surfactant was investigated in the pharyngeal aspirates at birth of 36 twin pairs and the results were compared with those of 121 singletons. Twins had significantly lower pharyngeal L/S ratios than singletons, when born between 29 and 35 weeks maturity and between 38 and 40 weeks, but not when born between 36 and 37 weeks.There were no significant differences between the L/S ratios of first and second-born twins, but there was a highly significant correlation between them (r = 0·56; P < 0·001).
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