Study led by CMU College of Medicine faculty member shows positive effects of steroids on preterm infant development

A study recently published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows preterm babies born after their mom received a single dose of steroids had a 1% increase in survival and a 1% increase in survival without illness for every hour that passed between administration of the drug and birth.

The study was conducted by Sanjay Chawla, M.D., a neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and faculty member with the CMU College of Medicine along with colleagues from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which also funded the research.

Medical providers typically give steroids to expectant mothers at risk of early delivery to help the baby’s lungs mature.  For maximum effect, the steroids are administered in two to four doses within 48 hours prior to delivery.  In some cases, circumstances may arise that narrow the 48-hour window.

“The researchers set out to determine if and how steroids given within a short time before a preterm birth benefitted the infant,” Chawla said.  “Our analysis showed that even a couple of hours of exposure to a single dose of steroids may benefit babies as young as 22 to 27 weeks gestation, and those benefits improve with every additional hour before birth.”

After analyzing records for 1,806 infants born from 22 to 27 weeks of pregnancy, researchers found that, in addition to reducing mortality, steroids given before birth to preterm infants can also reduce the chances of breathing and intestinal complications and bleeding inside the brain.  These findings support a proactive approach to administering steroids when a preterm birth is imminent.