Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41890301›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pediatrics2026

Associations between antenatal corticosteroids and neonatal morbidities in a prospective cohort: role of course, timing, and gestational age.

Xuanshu Wang, Kailun Zhang, Xiaomin Ye, Xiwen Wang, Ling Wang, Liya Ma, Hui Liang, Quanfu Zhang, Xu Chen, Ruoqing Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Xuanshu Wang *Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Kailun Zhang *Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Xiaomin YeDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Xiwen WangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Ling WangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Liya MaDepartment of Child Healthcare, Shenzhen Baoan Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Hui LiangCentral Laboratory, Shenzhen Baoan Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Quanfu Zhang *Department of Obstetrics, Shenzhen Baoan Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Xu Chen *Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology General Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Ruoqing Chen *Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) have been widely used to enhance fetal lung maturation in pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery, but gaps remain in understanding how number of courses, gestational age at the first dose, and last dose-to-delivery interval affect neonatal morbidities across different gestational age groups. This study aimed to investigate the associations between ACS, particularly the number of courses, gestational age at the first dose, and last dose-to-delivery interval, and neonatal morbidities. Methods: This prospective study included 78,642 singleton infants born at 29-43 weeks of gestation between July 2018 and June 2024. Detailed information of ACS exposure and neonatal morbidities was obtained from electronic health records. Logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for neonatal morbidities. Subgroup analyses were performed by stratifying the gestational age at birth. Results: A total of 2827 (3.59%) infants were exposed to ACS. Compared with unexposed infants, those exposed to ACS had higher risks of respiratory, metabolic, infectious/inflammatory, and neurological morbidities, but not of asphyxia. Multiple ACS courses demonstrated the strongest association with higher risk of neurological morbidity (OR, 2.99; 95% CI 1.68-5.31), along with increased risks of metabolic (OR, 1.43; 95% CI 1.12-1.83) and infectious/inflammatory morbidities (OR, 1.45; 95% CI 1.11-1.89). The timing of the first ACS dose was associated with increased risks of specific neonatal morbidities, regardless of the gestational age at initiation. A last dose-to-delivery interval of 14 days or more was associated with higher risks of metabolic (OR, 1.25; 95% CI 1.14-1.37), infectious/inflammatory (OR, 1.26; 95% CI 1.13-1.40), and neurological (OR, 1.84; 95% CI 1.31-2.59) morbidities. No association was found for infants born before 34 weeks. Conclusions: ACS exposure, particularly multiple courses or a last dose-to-delivery interval of 14 days or more, was associated with higher risks of neonatal morbidities among infants born at 34 weeks of gestation or later.

Indexed as

antenatal corticosteroidscohort studydexamethasonegestational ageneonatal morbidities

Identifiers

PMID41890301
PMCPMC13013305

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.