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Influence of early postnatal dexamethasone therapy on ventilator dependency in surfactant‐substituted preterm infants
Author(s) -
Suske G,
Oestreich K,
Varnholt V,
Lasch P,
Kachel W
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14132.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dexamethasone , surfactant therapy , dependency (uml) , pediatrics , pulmonary surfactant , intensive care medicine , gestational age , pregnancy , physics , genetics , thermodynamics , systems engineering , engineering , biology
We examined 26 preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome in a randomized controlled prospective study to determine whether early postnatal dexamethasone therapy (<2h; 0.5 mg/kg per day) over 5 days in addition to substitution of surfactant (100 mg/kg) facilitates extubation and the course of RDS. Control ( n = 12) and treated ( n = 14) groups were comparable in birthweight (mean ± SD: 1219 ± 292 versus 1446 ± 442g), gestational age (29.3 ± 2.2 versus 30.6 ± 2.7 weeks), prenatal characteristics and initial respiratory and blood gas parameters. In both groups one infant died. Infants in the dexamethasone group responded better to surfactant (12/14 versus 3/12; p < 0.01), were extubated earlier (6.6 versus 14.2 days; p < 0.02) and required less time on supplemental oxygen (4.2 versus 12.5 days; p < 0.02). Pulmonary complications tended to be lower in the dexamethasone group (1/14 versus 4/12), as was the frequency of retinopathy (2/14 versus 6/12; p < 0.05). We conclude that early postnatal dexamethasone therapy improves response to surfactant therapy resulting in better weaning and earlier extubation in premature infants.