[Multiple benefits of antenatal corticotherapy. Current status in th Belgian French community].
The benefit of antenatal administration of corticosteroids (betamethasone or dexamethasone) in the newborn prematured babies before the 34 week of gestation has been well demonstrated: reduction of respiratory distress syndrome but also a decrease in the incidence of severe intraventricular hemorrhages, episodes of necrotising enterocolitis and neonatal mortality. In this article, we report the impact of this treatment in the Belgian French Community in the population of infants with a birth weight below 1,500 g, born between 1990 and 1994 in the seven neonatal intensive care units. Based on this epidemiological study (compared with international publications) we propose the routine use of corticosteroids during the antenatal period, with the aim of seeing an increase in the use of this treatment, which, although costing little, produces clinical benefit.
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies