Comparing Surfactant Administration Through Supraglottic Airway and Thin Catheter for Preterm Infants (SALTI)

September 11, 2026 updated by: Melody Chiu, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

A Clinical Trial Comparing Surfactant Administration Through Supraglottic Airway or Thin Catheter for Preterm Infants

What is this study about? This study is comparing two ways of giving surfactant, a medicine that helps premature infants breathe better. Surfactant can be given using a thin tube ("Less Invasive Surfactant Administration", called the LISA method) or through a small airway device placed in the baby's throat above the vocal cords ("Surfactant Administration through Laryngeal or Supraglottic Airway", called the SALSA method). The goal is to see which method is safer and more effective for preterm infants who are born at 29-36 weeks of pregnancy and have trouble breathing.

What is the main question (hypothesis)? Infants who receive surfactant using the SALSA method will have fewer heart rate and breathing-related problems than those who receive it using the LISA method.

What are the aims? Aim 1: Are babies in the SALSA group less likely to have low heart rate or low oxygen levels during the procedure compared to babies in the LISA group? Aim 2: Do fewer babies in the SALSA group need to be put on a breathing machine within the first 72 hours of life? Aim 3: Does the SALSA method help reduce the overall time babies need breathing support and lower the cost of their care in the NICU?

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75235
        • Recruiting
        • Parkland Health and Hospital Systems
        • Contact:
          • Melody Chiu, MD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All preterm infants born between 29-36 weeks' gestation.
  • Infants with birthweight greater than or equal to 750 grams and admitted to the NICU on CPAP for respiratory support requiring at least FiO2 25% and qualify for LISA procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Infants who require intubation prior to surfactant therapy
  • Infants with known severe congenital anomalies (complex congenital heart disease, airway and central nervous system anomalies)
  • Infants whose birth weight is less than 750 grams or oropharynx unable to accommodate laryngeal mask airways

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Surfactant Administration through Laryngeal or Supraglottic Airway
Procedure: Surfactant Administration through Laryngeal or Supraglottic Airway

Surfactant Administration through Supraglottic Airway Devices

-AerVia sizes S, M, L, XL
Active Comparator: Surfactant Administration through Thin Catheter
Procedure: Surfactant Administration through Thin Catheter
Thin Catheter

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Combined bradycardia (heart rate < 100 for > 10 seconds) and hypoxemia (SpO2 < 80% for > 30 seconds) during surfactant administration
Time Frame: Time of laryngoscope or supraglottic airway device insertion to removal of device
  • Bradycardia: defined as heart rate < 100 beats per minute for > 10 seconds. Heart rate will be obtained from participant's heart rate monitor.
  • Hypoxemia: oxygen saturation (SpO2) =< 80% for > 30 seconds. Oxygen saturation will be obtained from participant's pulse oximeter monitor
  • Events will be recorded by bedside respiratory therapy and/or bedside nurse during the procedure
Time of laryngoscope or supraglottic airway device insertion to removal of device

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intubation rate
Time Frame: From time of procedure to 72 hours of life
  • Rate will be calculated as a percentage of participants in each arm Invasive mechanical ventilation within first 72 hours of life after surfactant
  • Participants' need for and timing of intubation will be obtained from electronic medical record
From time of procedure to 72 hours of life
Total duration of CPAP and mechanical ventilation days
Time Frame: Up to 52 weeks
Total numbers of days on continuous end positive expiratory pressure (CPAP) and invasive mechanical ventilation
Up to 52 weeks
Procedural success rate on first attempt
Time Frame: At time of surfactant administration procedure
  • Procedure attempt is defined at the introduction of laryngoscope blade into mouth for LISA, supraglottic airway for SALSA.
  • Procedural success is defined by the ability to insert catheter or laryngeal mask airway and administer surfactant with less than 25% of surfactant aspirated from the stomach post administration
  • Rate will be calculated as a percentage of participants in each arm
At time of surfactant administration procedure
Mean number of attempts required
Time Frame: At time of surfactant administration
Procedure attempt will be defined as introduction of laryngoscope blade into mouth for LISA and introduction of supraglottic airway into mouth for SALSA.
At time of surfactant administration

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Melody Chiu, M.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 5, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 29, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 22, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STU20250018

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Data will be collected and de-identified at the time of analysis. IPD availability does not to enhance study results.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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