A Timely Administration of Antenatal Steroids Is Highly Protective Against Intraventricular Hemorrhage: An Observational Multicenter Cohort Study of Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of the timing of antenatal steroids (ANSs) on neonatal outcome of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) born before 30 weeks of gestation in the German Neonatal Network. The German Neonatal Network is a large population-based cohort study enrolling VLBWIs since 2009. We included 672 neonates, who were born between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2019 in our analysis in 10 selected centers. Infants were divided into four subgroups based on the interval between the first steroid administration and preterm birth: (I) two doses of betamethasone, ANS-birth interval: >24 h to 7 days, An ANS-birth interval of 24 h to 7 days after the first dose was associated with a reduced risk for intraventricular hemorrhage (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.09-0.31, Our observational data indicate that an ANS-birth interval of 24 h to 7 days is strongly associated with a reduced risk of intraventricular hemorrhage in VLBWIs. Further research is needed to improve the prediction of preterm birth in order to achieve a timely administration of antenatal steroids that may improve neonatal outcomes such as intraventricular hemorrhage.

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Copyright © 2022 Fortmann, Mertens, Boeckel, Grüttner, Humberg, Astiz, Roll, Rickleffs, Rody, Härtel, Herting, Göpel and Bossung.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.