Evidence · Systematic review or meta-analysis
Corticosteroids for the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants: a network meta-analysis.
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- Medical
- Neurodevelopmental follow-up
- Neurology
- Respiratory
This paper is from 2018, more than five years ago. Newer evidence may have been published since.
Summary
This Bayesian network meta-analysis of 47 randomised controlled trials (6747 participants) compares postnatal corticosteroid regimens for preventing bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants. It compares dexamethasone at different doses, timings and durations with hydrocortisone, beclomethasone and budesonide, and assesses cerebral palsy as a safety outcome. Dexamethasone reduced BPD risk, but the combination of high-dose and long-term use raised neurodevelopmental concerns. Budesonide appeared beneficial in extremely preterm and extremely low birthweight infants, and the authors call for larger trials with long-term follow-up.
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- Licence:
- Open (Creative Commons)
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