Has anyone here used Viagra for PPHN?

dawngloves, BSN, RN · May 24, 2006

We did years ago when I first started NICU. I think we stopped when we started our nitric study.We did get good results from it.

It's been a while since we've had a really bad PPHN.

(Having now jinxed myself by typing that....)

TexasPediRN · May 24, 2006

I do home health & take care of a 2 year old who has pulm. hypertension who has been on Viagra for a long time. She gets 1ml QID. She was also on 24hour Oxygen for her heart, which has since been discontinued.

I guess since you're wanting to know the outcome - this kiddos cardiologist will tell you that her assessment and seeing her in person does not match whats down on paper about her. Shes doing great.

fergus51 · May 24, 2006

I've given it to a lot of PPHNers. We seemed to have a lot of those kids at my old hospital. It worked nicely and you can give it long term PO when they aren't at the nitric stage anymore..

2curlygirls · May 24, 2006

We use it on some post op cardiacs. Recently used it on a post op CHD (sp a month long ECMO run) who was also on iNO via NC. Unfortunately, he died the day before he was supposed to go home (he was going home to die anyway) Very sad.

Gompers, BSN, RN · May 24, 2006

Very interesting! We don't use Viagra on any of the kids and I don't think we ever have. From what I understand, we were one of the first units to use Nitric for PPHN, at least in this area. I believe it's been over 10 years now. If Nitric doesn't do the trick within an hour or two, or if it was working but the ABGs are declining, then we'll ship them out for ECMO.

Next time I have a PPHN kiddo, I'm going to ask why we haven't started using it yet. Do you use it instead of Nitric, or administer both?

LIZPICURN · May 24, 2006

I am from Ohio and work in the PICU. I have used viagra more frequently than not for babies or teenagers that have pulmonary hypertension.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · May 25, 2006

We've had 2-3 kids on it. The one I remember specifically was a former preemie; should have died when he was 2-3 weeks old from NEC; had almost no gut, bad BPD but managed most of the time to be on NC or Vapotherm (when we still had it). He went for one more surgery (strictures?) and decompensated after surgery with severe cor pulmonale. Too unstable to move across the street to our Children's hospital that does Nitric so we did Viagra with him. He pulled through that episode, wound back up on NC again. Eventually passed away from overwhelming sepsis at around 7 months old.

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · May 26, 2006

Thanks guys! I didn't know that they could go home on it. I so hope that is an option for them at some point. They are going to re-echo her this week and see how things are going and then try to wake her up more and see how she tolerates being awake.

tommy'smom · May 28, 2006

A little late reading the posting, but we have used Viagra quite a bit and sent the babies home on it. The drug was originally created for PPHN. We have also started to use a drug called Flolan (IV only) which has worked well.

Mags4711, RN · May 31, 2006

We do ECMO and Nitric, but will occasionally do Viagara, usually after ECMO and NO.

wjf00 · Jun 2, 2006

We have been using sildenafil with the pphn pts on the unit I work at. I found several studies supporting it with a Google search.