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Antenatal steroids have also been shown to have definite beneficial effect in treating the condition of preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). [8] Similar to its effects on preterm birth, research evidence suggests that the administration of antenatal steroids to patients with PPROM reduces risks of neonatal mortality, intraventricular hemorrhage and respiratory distress syndrome.
Antenatal corticosteroids, latency antibiotics, magnesium sulfate, and tocolytic medications are not recommended until the fetus reaches viability (24 weeks). [11] In cases of pre-viable PPROM, chance of survival of the fetus is between 15 and 50%, and the risk of chorioamnionitis is about 30%. [9]
A Cochrane review from 2020 recommends the use of a single course of antenatal corticosteroids to accelerate fetal lung maturation in women at risk of preterm birth. Treatment with antenatal corticosteroids reduces the risk of perinatal death, neonatal death and respiratory distress syndrome and probably reduces the risk of IVH. [128]
For very premature deliveries, a glucocorticoid is given without testing the fetal lung maturity. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Royal College of Medicine and other major organizations have recommended antenatal glucocorticoid treatment for women at risk for preterm delivery prior to 34 weeks of gestation. [36]
The lecithin–sphingomyelin ratio is a marker of fetal lung maturity. The outward flow of pulmonary secretions from the fetal lungs into the amniotic fluid maintains the level of lecithin and sphingomyelin equally until 32–33 weeks gestation, when the lecithin concentration begins to increase significantly while sphingomyelin remains nearly the same.
As preterm birth represents one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality, the goal is to prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality through delaying delivery and increasing gestational age by gaining more time for other management strategies like corticosteroids therapy that may help with fetus lung maturity.
The surfactant–albumin ratio is a test for assessing fetal lung maturity. [1] The test, though no longer commercially available, used an automatic analyzer to measure the polarized fluorescent light emitted from a sample of amniotic fluid that had been challenged with a fluorescent probe that interacted competitively with both lecithin (phosphatidylcholine) and albumin in such a way that ...
Fetal lung maturity is associated with how much surfactant the fetus is producing. Reduced production of surfactant indicates decreased lung maturity and is a high risk factor for infant respiratory distress syndrome. [33] Typically a lecithin:sphingomyelin ratio greater than 1.5 is associated with increased lung maturity.