title: Antenatal corticosteroids and perinatal outcomes in infants born at 23-25 weeks of gestation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the perinatal results of infants born between 23 and 25.6 weeks of gestation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical charts of all women giving birth prematurely (23-25.6 w) from January 2005 to December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Cases of malformed infants or deliveries elsewhere were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  198 infants were included. Chorioamnionitis occurred in 86 (43.4%) of the whole group: 26 (86.7%) in the 23-week; 35 (53.8%) in the 24-week and 25 (24.3%) in the 25-week groups. Foetal maturation with antenatal corticosteroids was complete in 119 cases (60.1%): 4 (13.3%) in the 23-week; 35 (53.8%) in the 24-week and 80 (77.7%) in the 25-week groups. Foetal death at birth occurred in 22 cases (11%) and 61 newborns (30.8%) died in the neonatal period. Of the 106 survivors with 2 years complete follow-up, 45 infants (42.4%) did not present sequelae; 16 infants (15.1%) had severe sequelae. A 66.6% (4) of infants born at 23 weeks of gestation did not present sequelae compared with a 32.3% (11) at 24 weeks and 45.4% (30) at 25 weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The chorioamnionitis rate was higher when gestational age was lower. The foetal maturation rate was higher when gestational age was higher. A low severe sequelae rate was observed in the whole series, particularly in the 23-week group where the rate was lower than expected; however, these results could have been influenced by the small size of the 23-week group.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goya
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cespedes
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Camba
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capote
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Felipe
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reixachs
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gorraiz
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pin
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Halachian
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gracia
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perapoch
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cabero
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit , Hospital Vall d'Hebron , Barcelona , Spain and.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carreras
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D002821:Chorioamnionitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D005325:Fetal Organ Maturity / Q000187:drug effects*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology; D066087:Perinatal Death; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones
keywords: Antenatal corticosteroids; cervical length; corioamnionitis; preterm birth