title: Outcomes of expectant management after betamethasone for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Review the latency period after betamethasone (BMZ) for pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review of patients that received BMZ for the reduction of preterm morbidity for HDP. Patients were grouped by gestational age of administration of BMZ and type of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy for analysis. The primary outcome was the interval between the gestational age of the patient at BMZ administration and delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-hundred and forty-seven subjects received BMZ for HDP during the study period delivering 168 infants. The median interval between administration of BMZ and delivery was 5 days [interquartile range (IQR) 2-20 days]. The median neonatal intensive care unit length of stay (NICU LOS) was 20 days (IQR 6-33 days). Fifty-seven percent of subjects delivered within 7 days of diagnosis and 32% had a latency period >14 days. Seventy-five percent of subjects were ultimately delivered for worsening hypertension.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The median latency period between diagnosis and delivery in the setting of HDP is <7 days. Further studies are warranted to address the use of antihypertensive pharmacotherapy to prolong the latency period for fetal benefit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California , Irvine, CA , USA .
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Latasha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Svena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Julien
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D057832:Watchful Waiting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D001623:Betamethasone
keywords: Gestational hypertension; hypertension; pre-eclampsia; pregnancy