Influence of antenatal corticosteroids and sex on the mortality and morbidity of extremely prematurely born infants

Abstract

Objective: To report the effect of antenatal corticosteroids (ANS) on mortality, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the duration of ventilation according to sex in extremely preterm infants. Methods: All extremely preterm infants admitted to any neonatal unit in England between 2014 and 2019. Results: Eleven thousand seven hundred and fourteen infants (54% male) were included with a median (IQR) gestational age of 26 + 1 (24 + 6 − 27 + 1) weeks, birth weight of 809 (670 − 960) grams and birth weight z-score of −0.38 (-0.88 to 0.07). ANS were administered in 10,449 infants (89%); equally in males and females. Infants who received ANS compared to those who did not, had a lower mortality before discharge (18.7 versus 32.3%, p