Phospholipid profile in tracheal aspirates of very preterm neonates: effect of prenatal betamethasone administration.

We compared the phospholipid profile in tracheal aspirates from surfactant-treated preterm neonates with and without prenatal betamethasone administration. We found higher phosphatidylglycerol concentrations and lower phosphatidylinositol and sphingomyelin concentrations in corticosteroid-treated preterms ( P < 0.01). We speculate that prenatal corticosteroids enhance biochemical surfactant phospholipid maturation.