INOMAX and Your Baby |
INOMAX® is a vasodilator, which, in conjunction with ventilatory support and other appropriate agents, is indicated for the treatment of term and near-term (>34 weeks gestation) neonates with hypoxic respiratory failure associated with clinical or echocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension, where it improves oxygenation and reduces the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
INOMAX Important Safety Information (ISI)
INOMAX should not be used in the treatment of neonates known to be dependent on right-to-left shunting of blood
Parents
About INOMAX
INOMAX (also known as inhaled nitric oxide) is an inhaled drug that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating Hypoxic Respiratory Failure (HRF) in newborns greater than 34 weeks gestational age. HRF means that your newborn isn’t getting enough oxygen into his or her blood. Newborns with this form of respiratory failure are unable to breathe on their own and have high blood pressure in the blood vessels of their lungs, which is known as pulmonary hypertension.
How Does INOMAX Work?
When INOMAX is administered to your newborn, it is mixed with oxygen in a breathing device called a ventilator and relaxes the tiny blood vessels surrounding the small air sacs (called alveoli) in the lungs. When these vessels are too constricted, or narrow, oxygen cannot move into the bloodstream. As the vessels relax, blood flow to the lungs improves. This allows more oxygen to be picked up by the bloodstream and improves oxygen levels in the newborn's blood.
The use of INOMAX in newborns with respiratory failure also reduces the need for a highly invasive procedure called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO is a surgical procedure that removes blood from the baby’s body and puts it through a machine that adds oxygen into the blood and then returns it to the body.
Risks and Side Effects
As with any treatment, the use of INOMAX is associated with certain risks. In some cases, certain adverse effects can occur. These include, but are not limited to:
- Abnormally low blood pressure
- Blood in the urine
- Injury to lungs
- High blood sugar
- Infection/severe infection
- Tissue inflammation
- Reduced capacity for blood to carry oxygen
- Elevated nitrogen dioxide
You may also read our Full Prescribing Information
Questions?
For more information about INOMAX, ask your healthcare professional.
References
5. Miller MJ et al. Respiratory disorders in preterm and term infants. In: Martin RJ, Fanaroff AA, Walsh MC. Fanaroff and Martin’s Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: Diseases of the Fetus and Infant. Vol 2. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2006:1122-1146.
7. Kinsella JP, Abman SH. Recent developments in the pathophysiology and treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. J Pediatr. 1995;126(6):853-864.
9. Golombek SG, Young JN. Efficacy of inhaled nitric oxide for hypoxic respiratory failure in term and late preterm infants by baseline severity of illness: a pooled analysis of three clinical trials. Clin Ther. 2010;32(5):939-948.