title: Prevention of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants by antenatal ambroxol: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy and safety of antenatal ambroxol as a preventive therapeutic of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled trials of antenatal ambroxol treatment for RDS in preterm infants published up to March 2012 were downloaded from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, and Google Scholar databases. Data were evaluated for homogeneity and analyzed by the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve trials involving a total of 1335 premature infants were selected for meta-analysis. Neonatal RDS was lower in the ambroxol-treated group than in the groups treated with placebo (risk ratio [RR] = 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24 to 0.59) or corticosteroids (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.78). The ambroxol-treated group had lower risk of neonatal infection than the corticosteroid-treated group (RR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.73).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In cases of inevitable preterm birth, antenatal ambroxol is recommended over corticosteroids to prevent neonatal RDS. However, further research is necessary to determine the optimal treatment dosages and regimens of antenatal ambroxol to achieve consistent superior results over corticosteroids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Qun
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qian-Qian
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xian-Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000551:Ambroxol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005100:Expectorants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018743:Perinatal Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D005100:Expectorants; D000551:Ambroxol