Biomaterial Database

The effects of repeat doses of antenatal corticosteroids on maternal adrenal function. 2000

D S McKenna, and G M Wittber, and H N Nagaraja, and P Samuels

Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether repeated doses of maternal corticosteroids suppress the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. METHODS The low-dose corticotropin stimulation test (1.0 microg intravenously) was administered a median of 3 days after the last betamethasone dose to 18 pregnant women who had received at least 2 weekly courses of antenatal betamethasone and to 6 control subjects matched for gestational age who had not received antenatal corticosteroids. RESULTS The mean basal cortisol level was significantly depressed among women who had received betamethasone with respect to control subjects (1.9 +/- 1.5 vs 26.5 +/- 6.2 microg/dL; P <.001). The maternal cortisol level after corticotropin stimulation was significantly lower in all women who had received betamethasone (P <. 001). The mean time to attainment of peak cortisol level was significantly longer among women who had received betamethasone than among control subjects (37 +/- 6.8 vs 27.4 +/- 1.6 minutes; P <.001). CONCLUSIONS Repeated courses of betamethasone lead to barely detectable maternal basal cortisol levels and secondary adrenal insufficiency.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011446	Prospective Studies	Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.	Prospective Study,Studies, Prospective,Study, Prospective
D012127	Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn	A condition of the newborn marked by DYSPNEA with CYANOSIS, heralded by such prodromal signs as dilatation of the alae nasi, expiratory grunt, and retraction of the suprasternal notch or costal margins, mostly frequently occurring in premature infants, children of diabetic mothers, and infants delivered by cesarean section, and sometimes with no apparent predisposing cause.	Infantile Respiratory Distress Syndrome,Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome,Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Infant
D005260	Female		Females
D005865	Gestational Age	The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated from the onset of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization. It is also estimated to begin from fertilization, estrus, coitus, or artificial insemination.	Embryologic Age,Fetal Maturity, Chronologic,Chronologic Fetal Maturity,Fetal Age,Maturity, Chronologic Fetal,Age, Embryologic,Age, Fetal,Age, Gestational,Ages, Embryologic,Ages, Fetal,Ages, Gestational,Embryologic Ages,Fetal Ages,Gestational Ages
D005938	Glucocorticoids	A group of CORTICOSTEROIDS that affect carbohydrate metabolism (GLUCONEOGENESIS, liver glycogen deposition, elevation of BLOOD SUGAR), inhibit ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE secretion, and possess pronounced anti-inflammatory activity. They also play a role in fat and protein metabolism, maintenance of arterial blood pressure, alteration of the connective tissue response to injury, reduction in the number of circulating lymphocytes, and functioning of the central nervous system.	Glucocorticoid,Glucocorticoid Effect,Glucorticoid Effects,Effect, Glucocorticoid,Effects, Glucorticoid
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006854	Hydrocortisone	The main glucocorticoid secreted by the ADRENAL CORTEX. Its synthetic counterpart is used, either as an injection or topically, in the treatment of inflammation, allergy, collagen diseases, asthma, adrenocortical deficiency, shock, and some neoplastic conditions.	Cortef,Cortisol,Pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, 11,17,21-trihydroxy-, (11beta)-,11-Epicortisol,Cortifair,Cortril,Epicortisol,Hydrocortisone, (11 alpha)-Isomer,Hydrocortisone, (9 beta,10 alpha,11 alpha)-Isomer,11 Epicortisol

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