Antenatal corticosteroids do not negatively impact offspring, finds study

Administration of antenatal corticosteroids to persons at risk for late preterm delivery is not associated with adverse childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6 years or older, according to a study published online April 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, M.D., from the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues evaluated whether administration of late preterm (34 to 36 completed weeks) corticosteroids (12 mg of intramuscular betamethasone administered twice 24 hours apart) to persons at risk for late preterm delivery affected childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes. The analysis included 949 children aged 6 years and older followed from birth as part of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network cycle.

The researchers found no differences in the primary outcome of a general conceptual ability score <85, which occurred in 17.1 percent of the betamethasone group versus 18.5 percent of the placebo group (adjusted relative risk, 0.94; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.22). Similarly, there no differences in secondary outcomes of gross motor skills, social responsiveness, or behavior.

"In this follow-up study of a randomized clinical trial, antenatal corticosteroids in persons at risk of late preterm delivery were not associated with adverse effects on childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6 years or older," the authors write. "These data provide reassurance with regard to the administration of antenatal corticosteroids in the late preterm period."

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