No Long-Term Ill Effects from Repeated Prenatal Corticosteroids for Preterm Labor

Children exposed prenatally to repeated corticosteroid doses for risk of preterm birth show no apparent physical or developmental ill effects after 2 years' follow-up, report two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine.


The studies, comprising some 1500 children, had randomized women at risk for preterm labor to receive either a single course or weekly injections of corticosteroids. When evaluated between ages 2 and 3, the groups showed no differences in measures of growth or neurocognitive development. One study did find an increased frequency of cerebral palsy after repeated corticosteroids, but the difference did not achieve statistical significance.


Both groups of researchers find the results "reassuring," but one group advises against weekly administration, saying the findings "indicate no evident long-term benefit and possible harm [from the cerebral palsy risk]."


An editorialist suggests that, in the absence of longer-term data, repeated courses could be given at lower dosages.