Additional Steroid Dose May Help Preemies
THURSDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Giving a second dose of steroids to babies still in the womb can reduce their post-birth respiratory problems and does not seem to affect their growth the way multiple courses can, new research shows.
In babies born before 34 weeks, about 43 percent of those given a second dose of steroids in utero had complications, compared with about 63 percent of the babies given a placebo.
"We saw a 31 percent reduction in overall composite neonatal morbidity. That's highly significant," said study author Dr. James Kurtzman, an associate clinical professor in the division of maternal-fetal medicine in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine.
The real advantage, he added, came from the reduction in respiratory problems. Fewer babies had respiratory distress syndrome, and fewer babies needed mechanical ventilation.
Results of the study were to be presented Jan. 29 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The study will also be published in the March edition of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Add A New Comment
Add A New CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first to get the conversation started.