Zeitschrift für Neonatalbiologie

Abstrakt

Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation is not Associated with the Recent Administration of Antenatal Betamethasone

Brian J Rau, Marc G Weiss, Jonathan K Muraskas and Carolyn Jones

Intestinal disease in premature infants, especially spontaneous intestinal perforation and necrotizing enterocolitis, contributes significant morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight infants and has a large impact in neonatal care and patient quality of life. In very low birth weight infants, factors influencing a systemic inflammatory response and/ or submucosal thinning, including postnatal glucocorticoids and exposure to indomethacin or ibuprofen, exacerbate the development of intestinal perforation in an already at risk population. In this retrospective analysis we evaluated whether antenatal steroids, a glucocorticoid for fetal lung maturity often given to mothers in close proximity to delivery, may be related to the development of perforation when given close to delivery and without adequate time for recovery of the intestinal mucosa. In our data set, it did not appear to be significantly related. Our results also did not show a categorical association between antenatal steroids and spontaneous intestinal perforation. We did however show a significant relationship between smaller, more depressed infants developing spontaneous intestinal perforation, as well as an association with concomitant sepsis