Antibiotics Used in Preterm Birth Might Affect Offspring

Preterm birth is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. The mechanisms of preterm birth are complex, but infection and inflammation often are involved. Therefore, antibiotics have been used to improve neonatal outcomes. Now, investigators report outcomes in 7-year-old children whose mothers participated in the ORACLE clinical trials of antibiotics for preterm births.

Investigators in ORACLE I randomized women with preterm rupture of membranes but no clinical signs of infection to receive erythromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, both antibiotics, or placebo. At delivery, women who received erythromycin were less likely than women in the other groups to have infants with poor outcomes (death, major cerebral abnormality, or …