Steroids for Women in Premature Labor and Infant Outcomes

Treatment with betamethasone, but not dexamethasone, was associated with unimpaired neurodevelopmental status, compared with no steroid treatment.

For more than a decade, steroids have been a mainstay of obstetric practice for women who are in premature labor and are expected to deliver a premature infant. Although two steroids — dexamethasone and betamethasone — are used for this purpose, some studies suggest that prenatal dexamethasone is associated with increased risk for adverse neurocognitive outcomes in infants. Investigators evaluated outcomes in 1124 infants (birth weight, 401–1000 g) at a corrected gestational age of 18 to 22 months who participated in an NIH-sponsored follow-up study: 153 were not exposed to steroids, 408 were exposed to dexamethasone, and 563 were exposed to betamethasone.

Overall, 12% of the infants had cerebral palsy, 21% had poor motor development, 32% ha…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)