JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Editorial Comment
Late Preterm Corticosteroids Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Late Preterm Antenatal Corticosteroids: The ALPS Follow-Up Study.
The Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids (ALPS) trial changed clinical practice in the United States by finding that antenatal betamethasone at 34 to 36 weeks decreased short-term neonatal respiratory morbidity. However, the trial also found increased risk of neonatal hypoglycemia after betamethasone. This follow-up study focused on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes after late preterm steroids. ⋯ In this follow-up study of a randomized clinical trial, administration of antenatal corticosteroids to persons at risk of late preterm delivery, originally shown to improve short-term neonatal respiratory outcomes but with an increased rate of hypoglycemia, was not associated with adverse childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6 years or older.