Immediate outcomes of late preterm neonates in NICU in a group with antenatal corticosteroids exposure versus non-exposed group: A retrospective observational study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the short-term outcome of neonates born late preterm and admitted to NICU receiving antenatal corticosteroids in contrast to no intervention. Study design: This was a Retrospective observational study of neonates born between 340/7 to 366/7 admitted to Neonatal intensive care for prematurity. Short term neonatal outcomes of corticosteroid group were compared with the non-exposed neonates. Results: During this 18-month study period, 174 subjects admitted to the NICU were enrolled. Among this, 72 were exposed to antenatal corticosteroids and 102 were the non-exposed group. The demographic data among the exposed and non-exposed antenatal corticosteroid groups were identical. The respiratory support was statistically significant in the exposed group for 30 subjects (41.67%) compared to non-exposed group 62 subjects (60.78%) with significant P value. The duration of the stay in NICU among the exposed group had a mean of 80.88 hours compared to non-exposed group with a mean of 114.96 hours. The statistical significance with P value was