Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2022 Apr 7;12(4):e059030.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059030.

Association between antenatal corticosteroids use and perinatal mortality among preterm singletons and twins in Mwanza, Tanzania: an observational study

Stanley Mwita  1 , Benjamin Anathory Kamala  2   3 , Eveline Konje  4 , Emmanuela Eusebio Ambrose  5 , Angelina Izina  6 , Elieza Chibwe  7 , Gilbert Kongola  8 , Deborah Dewey  9
Affiliations
Observational Study

Association between antenatal corticosteroids use and perinatal mortality among preterm singletons and twins in Mwanza, Tanzania: an observational study

Stanley Mwita et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the association between antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) use and perinatal mortality in singletons and twins delivered before 35 weeks of gestation.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from an observational prospective chart review study that investigated if exposure to ACS was associated with lower rates of perinatal mortality in preterm infants.

Setting: This study was conducted in four hospitals located in Mwanza region, Tanzania.

Participants: The study population included all preterm singletons and twins delivered at these hospitals between 24 weeks 0 days and 34 weeks 6 days of gestation from July 2019 to February 2020.

Outcome measures: The primary outcome was perinatal mortality; the secondary outcome was respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Results: The study included 844 singletons and 210 twin infants. Three hundred and fourteen singletons (37.2%) and 52 twins (24.8%) were exposed to at least one dose of ACS. Adjusted multivariate analyses revealed that among singletons' exposure to ACS was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of perinatal mortality, adjusted relative risk (aRR) 0.30 (95% CI 0.22 to 0.40) and RDS, aRR 0.92 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.97). In twin infants, exposure to ACS was associated with a reduced risk of RDS only, aRR 0.87 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.98).

Conclusion: The use of ACS between 24 weeks 0 days and 34 weeks 6 days of gestation in both singletons and twins in low-resource settings is associated with positive infant outcomes. No adverse effects were noted. Further research that examines the benefits of ACS for twin infants is needed.

Keywords: Fetal medicine; Maternal medicine; NEONATOLOGY; PERINATOLOGY; Respiratory infections.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study population inclusion and exclusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wade EE, Byers JG, Thagard AS. The state of the science of preterm birth: assessing contemporary screening and preventive strategies. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 2020;34:113–24. 10.1097/JPN.0000000000000470 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen K-H, Chen I-C, Yang Y-C, et al. . The trends and associated factors of preterm deliveries from 2001 to 2011 in Taiwan. Medicine 2019;98:e15060. 10.1097/MD.0000000000015060 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Conde-Agudelo A, Romero R. Prediction of preterm birth in twin gestations using biophysical and biochemical tests. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2011:583–95. 10.1016/j.ajog.2014.07.047 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Santana DS, Silveira C, Costa ML, et al. . Perinatal outcomes in twin pregnancies complicated by maternal morbidity: evidence from the who multicountry survey on maternal and newborn health. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2018;18:449. 10.1186/s12884-018-2082-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McGoldrick E, Stewart F, Parker R, et al. . Antenatal corticosteroids for accelerating fetal lung maturation for women at risk of preterm birth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2020;12:CD004454. 10.1002/14651858.CD004454.pub4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources