ANTENATAL INDUCTION OF PULMONARY MATURATI ON WITH CORTICOSTEROIDS - AN OVERVIEW

Respiratory disstress syndrome (RDS) and ist complications are a key f actor affecting mortality and immediate and long-term morbidity in pre term babies. Since the observations of Liggins in 1969, numerous inves tigations have shown that antenatal corticosteroid administration redu ces neonatal morbidity. In this review we summarize the known pathophy siological effects of this treatment and their impact on neonatal outc omes. In a second part we focuse on the combination corticosteroids pl us Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH). The additive use of TRH seems to potentiate corticosteroid effects enhancing lung maturity, as will be shown in an overview of experimental results. The interpretations o f the clinical results however show a need for futher investigations, which will be done in an European multicenter trial.