The effects of antenatal corticosteroid exposure on the rate of hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns

Hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns

Keywords: Antenatal corticosteroid, Betamethasone, Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, Term pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a short-lasting benign condition that affects approximately 60% of infants born at term infants. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) exposure on the rate of hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Health Sciences University Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Turkey from June 2017 to June 2018. A total of 6254 pregnant participants aged between 18 and 35 years with a singleton pregnancy were included in the study. The study group included 354 women with low-risk pregnancies (no perinatal risk except threatened preterm labor) who received ACS treatment and were hospitalized because of the threat of preterm labor before the 34th gestational week but delivered after 37 weeks of gestation. The control group was composed of 5900 women with low-risk pregnancies who did not receive ACS treatment throughout their pregnancy and delivered after 37 weeks of gestation.

Results: Maternal age, mean body mass index, gestational week at delivery, nulliparity, previous cesarean history, sex of the baby, fetal weight, labor induction, vaginal delivery, and five minutes. Apgar score were similar in both groups. The neonatal hyperbilirubinemia rate was 20/354 (5.6%) in the ACS treatment group and 564/5900 (9.6%) in the control group.

Conclusions: The neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was significantly decreased in term-born babies exposed to ACS before 34 weeks.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.6.1218

How to cite this:
Madendag IC, Sahin ME. The effects of antenatal corticosteroid exposure on the rate of hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(6):1582-1586. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.6.1218

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published
2019-10-08
How to Cite
Çöl Madendağ, İlknur, & Eraslan Sahin, M. (2019). The effects of antenatal corticosteroid exposure on the rate of hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns: Hyperbilirubinemia in term newborns. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 35(6). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.6.1218
Section
Original Articles