• Joice Fabíola Meneguel, Ruth Guinsburg, Milton Harumi Miyoshi, Clovis de Araujo Peres, Regina Helena Russo, Benjamin Israel Kopelman, and Luiz Camano.
• Departament of Pediatrics, Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brazil. dpn@osite.com.br
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2003 Mar 5; 121 (2): 45-52.

ContextAlthough the benefits of antenatal corticosteroids have been widely demonstrated in other countries, there are few studies among Brazilian newborn infants.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of antenatal corticosteroids on the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and intra-hospital mortality among neonates with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks.Type Of StudyCross-sectional.SettingA tertiary-care hospital.ParticipantsNeonates exposed to any dose of antenatal corticosteroids for fetal maturation up to 7 days before delivery, and newborns paired by sex, birth weight, gestational age and time of birth that were not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids. The sample obtained consisted of 205 exposed newborns, 205 non-exposed and 39 newborns exposed to antenatal corticosteroids for whom it was not possible to find an unexposed pair.ProceduresAnalysis of maternal and newborn records.Main MeasurementsThe primary clinical outcomes for the two groups were compared: the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and intra-hospital mortality; as well as secondary outcomes related to neonatal morbidity.ResultsAntenatal corticosteroids reduced the occurrence of respiratory distress syndrome (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.21-0.51) and the protective effect persisted when adjusted for weight, gestational age and the presence of asphyxia (adjusted OR: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.17-0.43). The protective effect could also be detected through the reduction in the need for and number of doses of exogenous surfactant utilized and the number of days of mechanical ventilation needed for the newborns exposed to antenatal corticosteroids. Their use also reduced the occurrence of intra-hospital deaths (OR: 0.51: 95% CI: 0.38-0.82). However, when adjusted for weight, gestational age, presence of prenatal asphyxia, respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis and use of mechanical ventilation, the antenatal corticosteroids did not maintain the protective effect in relation to death. With regard to other outcomes, antenatal corticosteroids reduced the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage grades III and IV (OR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.10-0.77).ConclusionsAntenatal corticosteroids were effective in the reduction of morbidity and mortality among premature newborns in the population studied, and therefore their use should be stimulated within our environment.

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