SynthesisBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2023
The proportions of term or late preterm births after exposure to early antenatal corticosteroids, and outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis of 1.6 million infants.
Synthesis in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed.
- Higher PEEP reduces duration of mechanical ventilation in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome of late preterm and term newborn infants.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Twenty-year outcomes after repeat doses of antenatal corticosteroids prior to 32 weeks' gestation: Follow-up of a randomised clinical trial.PLoS medicine · 2025Trial
- Promotion of long-term health in early life.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Persistent neurostructural alterations following very preterm birth.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- White matter microstructure and gray matter density in 12-year-old preterm born children.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Comparison of obstetric, maternal, and neonatal outcomes between preterm prelabor rupture of membranes at 34 + 0-36 + 6 weeks and term prelabor rupture of membranes at ≥ 37 weeks.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Revisiting the safety of short-term systemic corticosteroids.Biomedical journal · 2026Review
- miR-135a-5p Is a Promising Target to Prevent the Glomerulosclerosis Associated with Podocyte Developmental Toxicity in Offspring Induced by Prenatal Dexamethasone Exposure.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Impact of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Brain Function and Underlying Mechanisms in Preclinical Studies: Protocol for a Systematic Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Association between timing of antenatal corticosteroid and developmental outcomes in children born late preterm by high-risk pregnancies.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- The impact of antenatal corticosteroids on respiratory and metabolic outcomes in late-preterm births depends on timing, number of courses, and singleton/twin status: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Observational
- Neurodevelopmental outcomes in children and adults associated with antenatal corticosteroid exposure: a narrative review.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Review
- Longitudinal modelling of growth in neonates exposed to antenatal steroids to quantify associations with final height: a cohort study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2025Observational
- Maternal urinary metabolomic signatures preceding spontaneous preterm birth: A pilot study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Betamethasone latency period and neonatal hypoglycemia in term infants.The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians · 2025Article
- The protective role of adipogenic lineage precursors in maintaining bone marrow redox homeostasis in a mouse model of prenatal dexamethasone exposure.Redox biology · 2025Article
- Sex-specific effects of betamethasone on glucocorticoid and apoptotic signalling pathways in the sheep placenta.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Dexamethasone induces transgenerational inheritance of fetal-derived glomerulosclerosis phenotype in offspring through GR/DNMT3a mediated alterations of the lncRNA-Meg3/Notch signaling pathway.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2025Article
- Antenatal corticosteroid treatment for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: A population-based study in Japan.The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo systematically review the proportions of infants with early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids but born at term or late preterm, and short term and long term outcomes.
designSystematic review and meta-analyses. DATA SOURCES: Eight databases searched from 1 January 2000 to 1 February 2023, reflecting recent perinatal care, and references of screened articles. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Randomised controlled trials and population based cohort studies with data on infants with early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids (<34 weeks) but born at term (≥37 weeks), late preterm (34-36 weeks), or term/late preterm combined. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full text articles and assessed risk of bias (Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised controlled trials and Newcastle-Ottawa scale for population based studies). Reviewers extracted data on populations, exposure to antenatal corticosteroids, and outcomes. The authors analysed randomised and cohort data separately, using random effects meta-analyses.
main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the proportion of infants with early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids but born at term. Secondary outcomes included the proportions of infants born late preterm or term/late preterm combined after early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids and short term and long term outcomes versus non-exposure for the three gestational time points (term, late preterm, term/late preterm combined).
resultsOf 14 799 records, the reviewers screened 8815 non-duplicate titles and abstracts and assessed 713 full text articles. Seven randomised controlled trials and 10 population based cohort studies (1.6 million infants total) were included. In randomised controlled trials and population based data, ∼40% of infants with early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids were born at term (low or very low certainty). Among children born at term, early exposure to antenatal corticosteroids versus no exposure was associated with increased risks of admission to neonatal intensive care (adjusted odds ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.86, one study, 5330 infants, very low certainty; unadjusted relative risk 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.51 to 1.89, three studies, 1 176 022 infants, I
conclusionsAbout 40% of infants exposed to early antenatal corticosteroids were born at term, with associated adverse short term and long term outcomes (low or very low certainty), highlighting the need for caution when considering antenatal corticosteroids. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022360079.
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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.