Background: Antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) treatment has been proven to decrease rates of adverse perinatal outcomes when administered to pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery. Given the uncertainty about the be...Background: Antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) treatment has been proven to decrease rates of adverse perinatal outcomes when administered to pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery. Given the uncertainty about the benefit of ACS according to gestational age, we aimed to examine whether there was any benefit of ACS on perinatal mortality and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) according to different gestational ages at birth. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from an observational prospective chart review study was conducted in four hospitals located in the Mwanza region, Tanzania. The study population consisted of singleton infants delivered between 27 and 34 weeks of gestation between July 2019 and February 2020. Sociodemographic and medical data were recorded from participants’ medical records. Results: Over an eight-month period, 838 preterm singletons were delivered between 27 and 34 weeks of gestation. Three hundred and twelve (37.2%) pregnant women received at least one dose of ACS. Among infants exposed to ACS, perinatal mortality rates were significantly lower than those without exposure at the 27th week (27.8% vs 94.4%, P < 0.001), the 29th week (13.3% vs 51.4%, P = 0.012) and the 34th week (3.0% vs 18.2%, P < 0.001). Among infants exposed to ACS, the RDS rate was significantly lower than those without exposure only at the 32nd week (9.5% vs 25.0%, P = 0.039). Conclusion: Our findings add to the literature about the benefits of ACS for preterm infants of various gestational ages in low-resource settings. Compared to unexposed infants, those exposed to ACS and born at 27th and 34th weeks of gestation experienced lower rates of perinatal mortality. Future research, especially among infants born before the 27th week of pregnancy, is a priority.展开更多
Objective: To explore whether there exist differences in cognitive development between singletons and twins born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: A total of...Objective: To explore whether there exist differences in cognitive development between singletons and twins born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: A total of 566 children were recruited for the study, including 388 children (singletons, n=175; twins, n=213) born after IVF and 178 children (singletons, n=87; twins, n=91 ) born after ICSI. The cognitive development was assessed using the Chinese-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C-WISC). Results: For all pre-term offspring, all the intelligence quotient (IQ) items between singletons and twins showed no significant differences no matter if they were born after IVF or ICSI. There was a significant difference in the cognitive development of IVF-conceived full-term singletons and twins. The twins born after IVF obtained significantly lower scores than the singletons in verbal IQ (containing information, picture & vocabulary, arithmetic, picture completion, comprehension, and language), performance IQ (containing maze, visual analysis, object assembly, and performance), and full scale IQ (P〈0.05). The cognitive development of full-term sin- gletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. There was no significant difference between the parents of the singletons and twins in their characteristics where data were collected, including the age of the mothers, the current employment status, the educational backgrounds, and areas of residence. There were also no consistent differences in the duration of pregnancy, sex composition of the children, age, and height between sin- gletons and twins at the time of our study although there existed significant differences between the two groups in the sex composition of the full-term children born after ICSI (P〈0.05). Conclusions: Compared to the full-term singletons born after IVF, the full-term twins have lower cognitive development. The cognitive development of full-term singletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. For all pre-term offspring, singletons and twins born after IVF or ICSI, the results of the cognitive development showed no significant differences.展开更多
文摘Background: Antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) treatment has been proven to decrease rates of adverse perinatal outcomes when administered to pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery. Given the uncertainty about the benefit of ACS according to gestational age, we aimed to examine whether there was any benefit of ACS on perinatal mortality and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) according to different gestational ages at birth. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from an observational prospective chart review study was conducted in four hospitals located in the Mwanza region, Tanzania. The study population consisted of singleton infants delivered between 27 and 34 weeks of gestation between July 2019 and February 2020. Sociodemographic and medical data were recorded from participants’ medical records. Results: Over an eight-month period, 838 preterm singletons were delivered between 27 and 34 weeks of gestation. Three hundred and twelve (37.2%) pregnant women received at least one dose of ACS. Among infants exposed to ACS, perinatal mortality rates were significantly lower than those without exposure at the 27th week (27.8% vs 94.4%, P < 0.001), the 29th week (13.3% vs 51.4%, P = 0.012) and the 34th week (3.0% vs 18.2%, P < 0.001). Among infants exposed to ACS, the RDS rate was significantly lower than those without exposure only at the 32nd week (9.5% vs 25.0%, P = 0.039). Conclusion: Our findings add to the literature about the benefits of ACS for preterm infants of various gestational ages in low-resource settings. Compared to unexposed infants, those exposed to ACS and born at 27th and 34th weeks of gestation experienced lower rates of perinatal mortality. Future research, especially among infants born before the 27th week of pregnancy, is a priority.
基金Project supported by the Program for Zhejiang Leading Team of S&T Innovation(No.2011R50013-14)the National Basic Research Program(973)of China(No.2014CB943302)+1 种基金the Major Science and Technology Programs of the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province(No.2010C13028)the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period(No.2012BAI32B01),China
文摘Objective: To explore whether there exist differences in cognitive development between singletons and twins born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: A total of 566 children were recruited for the study, including 388 children (singletons, n=175; twins, n=213) born after IVF and 178 children (singletons, n=87; twins, n=91 ) born after ICSI. The cognitive development was assessed using the Chinese-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C-WISC). Results: For all pre-term offspring, all the intelligence quotient (IQ) items between singletons and twins showed no significant differences no matter if they were born after IVF or ICSI. There was a significant difference in the cognitive development of IVF-conceived full-term singletons and twins. The twins born after IVF obtained significantly lower scores than the singletons in verbal IQ (containing information, picture & vocabulary, arithmetic, picture completion, comprehension, and language), performance IQ (containing maze, visual analysis, object assembly, and performance), and full scale IQ (P〈0.05). The cognitive development of full-term sin- gletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. There was no significant difference between the parents of the singletons and twins in their characteristics where data were collected, including the age of the mothers, the current employment status, the educational backgrounds, and areas of residence. There were also no consistent differences in the duration of pregnancy, sex composition of the children, age, and height between sin- gletons and twins at the time of our study although there existed significant differences between the two groups in the sex composition of the full-term children born after ICSI (P〈0.05). Conclusions: Compared to the full-term singletons born after IVF, the full-term twins have lower cognitive development. The cognitive development of full-term singletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. For all pre-term offspring, singletons and twins born after IVF or ICSI, the results of the cognitive development showed no significant differences.