Hyaline Membrane Disease in Relation to Fibrinolytic Activity.

There are several points of interest about hyaline membrane disease in relation to any discussion of fibrinolytic activity. In paediatrics hyaline membrane disease is a persisting cause of mortality. Between 40% and 60% of premature infants dying in the first five days of life are said to die of this condition. The diagnosis falls to the pathologist who examines the lungs after death, for during life the patient will have been said to have had the 'respiratory distress syndrome'. Although many theories have been put forward to explain why apparently 'hyaline' material is laid down on the alveolar epithelium, only certain aetiological factors are known to be common to most patients. It is most common in premature infants, particularly those of mothers who are diabetic or have the so-called 'pre-diabetic' state, and in infants born by Caesarian section, usually after prolonged labour. The deposition of pinkstaining hyaline material in the alveoli, as seen in sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin, also occurs in other pathological conditions, and is found in the lungs of patients dying of such widely differing conditions as cardiac failure, pneumonia, and after the inhalation of irritating gases.