Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2005
Antenatal betamethasone and incidence of neonatal respiratory distress after elective caesarean section: pragmatic randomised trial.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01222247 (Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids), which is not on this map. Cited by 76 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids (ALPS): A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 365 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antenatal corticosteroids prior to planned caesarean at term for improving neonatal outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Drugs for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anaesthesia: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Corticosteroids for preventing neonatal respiratory morbidity after elective caesarean section at term.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Antenatal corticosteroids for maturity of term or near term fetuses: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Planned early delivery versus expectant management of the term suspected compromised baby for improving outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Antenatal Corticosteroids to Asian Women Prior to Elective Cesarean Section at Early Term and Effects on Neonatal Respiratory Outcomes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Antenatal Betamethasone for Women at Risk for Late Preterm Delivery.The New England journal of medicine · 2016Trial
- Behavioural, educational and respiratory outcomes of antenatal betamethasone for term caesarean section (ASTECS trial).Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition · 2013Trial
- Effectiveness of antenatal corticosteroids in reducing respiratory disorders in late preterm infants: randomised clinical trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2011Trial
- Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes Following Immediate Delivery Versus Expectant Management in Pregnant Women With Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes During the Late Preterm Period in Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Article
- Antenatal Corticosteroid Exposure in Late Preterm Infants: Clinical Considerations in Diabetic Mothers.Cureus · 2026Article
- Respiratory distress in neonates with gestational age ≥ 35 weeks and associations between risk factors & respiratory distress.Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology · 2025Article
- Retrospective Review of Prednisolone Use in Late Pre-term and Term Infants With Persistent Oxygen Requirements.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2025Article
- Impact of antenatal corticosteroid therapy on neonatal respiratory outcomes in late preterm births.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Antenatal corticosteroids in Singapore: a clinical and scientific assessment.Singapore medical journal · 2024Review
- Management advances for congenital diaphragmatic hernia: integrating prenatal and postnatal perspectives.Translational pediatrics · 2024Review
- Prevention and Therapy of Preterm Birth. Guideline of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG (S2k Level, AWMF Registry Number 015/025, September 2022) - Part 2 with Recommendations on the Tertiary Prevention of Preterm Birth and on the Management of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2023Article
- The influence of prenatal dexamethasone administration before scheduled full-term cesarean delivery on short-term adverse neonatal outcomes: a retrospective single-center cohort study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Article
- The role of antenatal corticosteroids in twin pregnancy.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Review
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo test whether steroids reduce respiratory distress in babies born by elective caesarean section at term.
designMulticentre pragmatic randomised trial.
setting10 maternity units.
participants998 consenting women randomised at decision to deliver by elective caesarean section; 503 randomised to treatment group.
interventionsThe treatment group received two intramuscular doses of 12 mg betamethasone in the 48 hours before delivery. The control group received treatment as usual. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was admission to special care baby unit with respiratory distress. Secondary outcomes were severity of respiratory distress and level of care in response.
resultsSex, birth weight, and gestation were not different between the two groups. Of the 35 babies admitted to special baby units with respiratory distress, 24 were in the control group and 11 in the intervention group (P = 0.02). The incidence of admission with respiratory distress was 0.051 in the control group and 0.024 in the treatment group (relative risk 0.46, 95% confidence interval 0.23 to 0.93). The incidence of transient tachypnoea of the newborn was 0.040 in the control group and 0.021 in the treatment group (0.54, 0.26 to 1.12). The incidence of respiratory distress syndrome was 0.011 in the control group and 0.002 in the treatment group (0.21, 0.03 to 1.32).
conclusionsAntenatal betamethasone and delaying delivery until 39 weeks both reduce admissions to special care baby units with respiratory distress after elective caesarean section at term.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.