Timing of antenatal corticosteroid administration in pregnancies with increased risk for premature birth: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate how often antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) were administered within the optimal time frame in women at risk of preterm birth (PTB) in relation to several diagnoses and risk factors.

METHOD

The study was designed as a retrospective cohort trial, in which the data of all births taking place in 2016 in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate were evaluated. Frequency analyses, subgroup analyses, and logistic regression were performed.

RESULTS

Birth occurred within the ideal time frame (≥24 h, ≤7 days) in only 15.2% of all pregnant women who were treated with ACS because of an increased risk of PTB (N = 1544). The ideal time frame after ACS administration was reached in less than 25% of all cases in each subgroup, with little difference between the different diagnoses and risk factors for PTB (range 11.3%-22.2%). Patients with multiple pregnancy had a significantly higher chance for delivery within the ideal time frame. There was an odds ratio greater than 1 for a birth event within the ideal time frame in patients with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes, pre-eclampsia, oligohydramnios, amniotic infection syndrome, and in patients with multiple diagnoses. In most diagnoses, the average time between ACS administration and birth was significantly shorter compared with patients without the diagnosis or risk factor.

CONCLUSION

In women at risk of PTB, the individual risk profile should first be identified before ACS management begins. The likelihood of achieving the ideal time frame additionally depends on the diagnosis.