[Prenatal prevention of infant respiratory distress syndrome. 2nd part: clinical applications and indications].

Two types of sometimes complementary therapeutic strategies can be developed to prevent infant respiratory distress syndrome antenatally. The first is to administer a treatment aimed at accelerating the maturation process of fetal lung tissue in women at risk of premature birth. This is the only strategy with a goal of antenatal treatment. The second method is to optimize neonatal care, particularly with exogenous surfactants. The use of corticosteroids during the antenatal period has been well studied and is known to be effective with a 50% reduction in the risk of the syndrome before 34 weeks gestation. Prenatal morbidity and mortality are decreased without major adverse effects. Based on a limited number of cases, TRH-corticosteroid combination probably gives better results with no predictable unfavourable neonatal consequences. The synergic action of antenatal treatments, completed with exogenous surfactants at birth, is one of the fundamental aspects of care for very premature infants (< 28 weeks gestation).