Episode Details
Back to Episodes#440 - 🔵 [PAS 2026] - Is LISA the Future of Surfactant Delivery for Premature Babies?
Description
Dr. Surabhi Aggarwal, neonatologist at Stony Brook University, joins Ben and Rupa to share five years of experience building a LISA — Less Invasive Surfactant Administration — program from the ground up at her institution. She walks through the obstacles of getting IRB approval, gaining clinical buy-in from colleagues comfortable with intubation, and how the introduction of video laryngoscopy was the turning point that finally got the practice off the ground. She shares early results showing that 30% of eligible babies received surfactant via LISA rather than intubation, discusses the technical nuances of catheter placement and confirmation, and weighs in on the emerging SALSA technique using an LMA — with a candid admission that she may be a little biased. She also highlights her work with MidCan, the AAP mid-career neonatologist group supporting clinicians between seven and seventeen years post-training.
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.
Enjoy!