Effects of single and multiple courses of antenatal glucocorticoids in preterm newborns less than 30 weeks' gestation.

BACKGROUND: We compared outcomes between neonates receiving either single course, multiple courses, or no antenatal glucocorticoid exposure.

METHODS: We retrospectively identified neonates whose mothers received a single course (SIN) of dexamethasone, multiple (2-3) weekly courses (MULT), or no (NO) glucocorticoids. Multiple gestations and infants with chromosomal abnormalities or not receiving a full course of antenatal dexamethasone were excluded from the study. The incidences of the following outcomes were examined: respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), Grades III or IV intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), sepsis, and in-hospital death. Means were compared with analysis of variance and outcome variable frequencies with chi-square test.

RESULTS: A total of 147 infants were included in the analysis. There were no differences in the gestational age or growth parameters among the groups. As anticipated, infants exposed to antenatal glucocorticoids had a significantly lower incidence of morbidities (BPD, NEC, and IVH) than the unexposed infants. There were no differences in the incidence of RDS, IVH, BPD, NEC, ROP, PDA, sepsis, or death between the SIN and MULT groups.

CONCLUSION: A single course of antenatal glucocorticoid therapy is associated with improved neonatal outcomes in infants less than 30 weeks' gestation. Multiple courses were not shown to confer additional benefits, but further investigation is required to definitively address the need for weekly treatment.