Original Investigation

Comparison Of Single And Double Courses Of Antenatal Corticosteroid Administration On Neonatal Mortality And Morbidity

  • Hüseyin Ay
  • Migraci Tosun
  • Erdal Malatyalioglu
  • Canan Aygün
  • Mehmet Bilge Çetinkaya
  • Handan Çelik
  • Fatma Devran Bildircin

Received Date: 07.09.2009 Accepted Date: 15.11.2009 J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc 2010;11(1):38-43 PMID: 24591892

Objective:

We aimed to evaluate the effects of single and double courses of antenatal corticosteroid administration on neonatal mortality and morbidity.

Material and Methods:

232 preterm babies delivered between 01.April 2007 and 31. March 2008 with gestational ages of 26- 34 weeks were evaluated prospectively. Infants were divided into three groups. The first group did not receive any antenatal betamethasone therapy. The second group received single (two doses of 12 mg betamethasone administered at 24 hour intervals) and the third group received double (repeated course after one week) courses of betamethasone therapy.

Results:

156 (67.2%) infants received at least one dose of corticosteroid treatment where 76 (37.8%) did not. Of 156 infants who had received antenatal betamethasone, 36 (23.1%) developed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), while the incidence of RDS was 35.5% in 76 preterms who didn’t receive antenatal betamethasone (27/76) (p<0.05). When single and double courses of bethamethasone administration was compared, 20 (24.7%) infants with single course and 16 (21.3%) infants with two course group developed RDS (p>0.05).

Conclusion:

When single and two courses of antenatal steroid therapy were compared, there was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding the incidence of RDS and mechanical ventilator treatment.

Keywords: Antenatal betamethasone therapy, respiratory distress syndrome, preterm delivery