JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Association Between Early Low-Dose Hydrocortisone Therapy in Extremely Preterm Neonates and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 2 Years of Age.
Dexamethasone to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm neonates was associated with adverse neurodevelopmental events. Early low-dose hydrocortisone treatment has been reported to improve survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia but its safety with regard to neurodevelopment remains to be assessed. ⋯ In this exploratory analysis of secondary outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of extremely preterm infants, early low-dose hydrocortisone was not associated with a statistically significant difference in neurodevelopment at 2 years of age. Further randomized studies are needed to provide definitive assessment of the neurodevelopmental safety of hydrocortisone in extremely preterm infants.