Efficiency of heparin in the treatment of newborn infants with respiratory distress syndrome and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Forty newborns with severe shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation were randomized for treatment with heparin or placebo. Mortality was equal in both groups. The heparin group required significantly shorter periods of artificial ventilation. The coagulation system improved faster, and the coagulation pattern showed normal values in the treatment group. Due to the low number of cases, these differences could not be statistically confirmed.