Meconium aspiration (inhalation)

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Meconium aspiration (inhalation)

Alternative Names:

Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS)

Symptoms:

Dark, greenish staining or streaking of the amniotic fluid or the obvious presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid
Infant's skin stained greenish (occurs if meconium passed a long period before delivery)
Infant appears limp at birth
Bluish skin color in the infant
Rapid breathing
Labored breathing (the infant needs to work hard to breathe)
Absence of breathing
Signs of post-maturity such as weight loss, peeling skin

Signs and tests:

Before birth, the fetal monitor may show a slow heart rate. At birth, meconium is visible in the amniotic fluid. The infant may have a low Apgar score.

The physical examination of the infant may involve:

Directly looking for meconium staining on the vocal cords with a laryngoscope in the delivery room. This is the most accurate evaluation for possible meconium aspiration.
Listening to the infant's chest with a stethoscope and hearing abnormal breath sounds, especially coarse, crackly sounds.

Tests performed on the infant may include:

Blood gas analysis showing low blood pH (acidosis, an acidic condition of the blood), decreased pO2 and increased pCO2
A chest x-ray showing patchy or streaky areas on lungs

Review Date: 7/15/2004
Reviewed By: John Goldenring, M.D., MPH, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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