[Prevention of respiratory distress syndrome with betamethasone. Preliminary communication].

A controlled trial of antepartum glucocorticoid treatment for prevention of respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants was carried out. 37 mothers, in whom premature delivery threatened between 28 and 37 weeks of gestation, were given intramuscular injections 8-12 mg of betamethasone as well as medication inhibiting uterine activity and strict bedrest to delay premature delivery for at least 24 to 48 hours. In comparison with a control group of 16 mothers, who received tocolytic and sedative medication and were on strict bedrest and another control group of 42 untreated patients, there was no difference in the 3 groups concerning the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants, but there was a lower perinatal mortality rate of respiratory distress syndrome in the betamethasone treated group, than in the controls, possibly due to a milder course of respiratory distress syndrome disease by accelerating functional maturation of the fetal lung with betamethasone.