RETRACTED: Antenatal corticosteroid administration before elective caesarean section at term to prevent neonatal respiratory morbidity: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The editorial board has raised concerns regarding the integrity of this paper and remaining in the public domain. It is by far the largest trial of corticosteroids for this indication, overwhelming other similar trials in Cochrane and other systematic reviews and is likely leading to widespread prescription of this drug, which may have serious side effects on fetal brain development. If the data is unreliable, women and babies are being harmed. As we have not received the original dataset or a satisfactory response from Dr Nada for an explanation regarding our concerns after giving them a month to respond, we have decided to retract this paper.

Keywords: Antenatal corticosteroids; Dexamethasone; Respiratory distress syndrome.