Antenatal Betamethasone Compared to Dexamethasone - "BETACODE TRIAL"
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2005-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Antenatal corticosteroids result in substantial decrease in neonatal morbidity and mortality
by specifically reducing the risk of respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular
hemorrhage and neonatal death among premature infants. No human randomized study has formally
compared betamethasone and dexamethasone, the preferred corticosteroids for antenatal
therapy, with regards to their effectiveness in reducing neonatal morbidities and mortality.
Our objective was to compare betamethasone with dexamethasone in terms of effectiveness in
reducing perinatal morbidities and mortality among preterm infants.