PPHN is a serious condition and intensive monitoring and treatment are critical. Even with prompt recognition and treatment, an infant with PPHN may continue to supply an inadequate amount of oxygen to the body's tissues, resulting in shock, heart failure, brain hemorrhage, seizures, kidney failure, multiple organ damage, and possibly even death.

Some causes of PPHN are treatable and reversible; others are associated with a poor survival rate, even if nitric oxide and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) are used. In some newborns with PPHN, the lungs are too diseased or malformed to heal adequately, even if the baby stays on ECMO for a longer period of time.

Periods of inadequate oxygenation can have long-term effects on infants who survive PPHN, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (a chronic lung disease associated with scarred, stiffened lungs) and breathing difficulties. Seizure disorders, developmental delay, and neurological deficits may also be seen.

For several weeks following treatment, infants who've had PPHN may not be able to take feedings by mouth. A temporary feeding tube may have to be inserted into the baby's nose, or for longer-term feeding problems, directly into the stomach through the skin on the abdomen. Feeding tubes will be needed if the baby cannot eat enough to meet his nutritional requirements for growth.

Hearing problems are another common condition associated with PPHN. If your child had PPHN, he will probably need to be evaluated by a hearing specialist during early childhood to check for hearing loss, and the development of his speech will also need to be followed closely.

Medical treatments such as high frequency ventilation, nitric oxide, and ECMO have significantly decreased the percentage of children who die from PPHN. Fifteen years ago, almost half of infants diagnosed with PPHN died; today, less than 20% of infants with PPHN die, and only about one fifth of surviving infants experience long-term physical or developmental complications.

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