New studies on Sildenafil treatment in babies with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)

Sildenafil is the phosphodiesterase-V inhibitor more commonly known as Viagra (1). It has been successful in treating pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) because it increases blood pressure in the lungs. It has grown in usage and is now the major treatment option for PAH in babies, even though it is still used off-label and requires further studies. For this reason, it should only be administered with the approval of the physician and with a pediatric cardiologist present. Sildenafil combats pulmonary hypertension by decreasing the activity of phosphodiesterase-V, which is a substance in the lungs that breaks down another substance called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP) (2). With phosphodiesterase-V in check, more GMP is available in the lungs. GMP relaxes and widens blood vessels in the lungs, which decreases the pulmonary blood pressure to the heart. This process decreases the blood pressure in the lungs and improves function. Researchers are now…

Read more detail on Recent Medical Malpractice posts –

This entry was posted in Medical malpractice law and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply