Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of antenatal betamethasone treatment on serum thyroid hormones in preterm infants.

Material and Methods: A total of 156 babies born between 2013-2019 with gestational age of ≤32 weeks were included in this retrospective study. Information of the babies was accessed from the hospital records. Infants were divided into 3 groups according to betamethasone treatment: no treatment, partial dose, and complete dose. Thyroid function tests were compared between the groups before 30th days of life.

Results: There was no difference between the three groups in terms of gestational age, route of delivery, birth weight, rate of multiple pregnancy, gender, maternal age, premature rupture of membranes, chorioamnionitis, maternal thyroid disease, hospital stay, sampling time of serum thyroid hormones, Apgar score, patent ductus arteriosus, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The surfactant treatment was significantly low in the patients receiving complete dose of steroid. There was no difference between the three groups in terms of serum free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.

Conclusion: It has been shown that antenatal betamethasone treatment has no effect on serum thyroid hormones in preterm infants.

Keywords: Antenatal steroid, thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone

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How to cite

1.
Anık A, Vurmaz B, Öztürk S, Ünüvar T, Akcan AB, Anık A, et al. The Effect of Antenatal Betamethasone Treatment On Serum Thyroid Hormone Levels of Preterm Infants. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2020 Nov. 30 [cited 2025 May 24];14(6):488-92. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/645