The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 150, Issue 4 , Pages 345-350 , April 2007

Follow-up Study of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Postnatal Dexamethasone Therapy in Very Low Birth Weight Infants: Effects on Pulmonary Outcomes at Age 8 to 11 Years

  • Patricia A. Nixon, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health & Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
    • Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Patricia A. Nixon, PhD, Wake Forest University, HES Department, PO Box 7868, Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7868.
    • ,
  • Lisa K. Washburn, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
    • ,
  • Michael S. Schechter, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
    • ,
  • T. Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Received 11 August 2006 ,Revised 24 October 2006 ,Accepted 7 December 2006.

References 

  1. National Center for Health Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Final natality data. 2005;
  2. Stevenson DK, Wright LL, Lemons JA, Oh W, Korones SB, Papile LA, et al. Very low birth weight outcomes of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network, January 1993 through December 1994. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1998;179:1632–1639
  3. Lemons JA, Bauer CR, Oh W, Korones SB, Papile LA, Stoll BJ, et al. Very low birth weight outcomes of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network, January 1995 through December 1996 (NICHD Neonatal Research Network). Pediatrics. 2001;107:e1
  4. Palta M, Sadek M, Barnet JH, Evans M, Weinstein MR, McGuinness G, et al. Evaluation of criteria for chronic lung disease in surviving very low birth weight infants (Newborn Lung Project). J Pediatr. 1998;132:57–63
  5. Palta M, Sadek-Badawi M, Sheehy M, Albanese A, Weinstein M, McGuinness G, et al. Respiratory symptoms at age 8 years in a cohort of very low birth weight children. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;154:521–529
  6. Hofhuis W, Huysman MW, van der Wiel EC, Holland WP, Hop WC, Brinkhorst G, et al. Worsening of V’maxFRC in infants with chronic lung disease in the first year of life: a more favorable outcome after high-frequency oscillation ventilation. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002;166:1539–1543
  7. Kennedy JD, Edward LJ, Bates DJ, Martin AJ, Dip SN, Haslam RR, et al. Effects of birthweight and oxygen supplementation on lung function in late childhood in children of very low birth weight. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2000;30:32–40
  8. Korhonen P, Laitinen J, Hyodynmaa E, Tammela O. Respiratory outcome in school-aged, very-low-birth-weight children in the surfactant era. Acta Paediatr. 2004;93:316–321
  9. Doyle LW, Cheung MM, Ford GW, Olinsky A, Davis NM, Callanan C. Birth weight <1501 g and respiratory health at age 14. Arch Dis Child. 2001;84:40–44
  10. Northway WH, Moss RB, Carlisle KB, Parker BR, Popp RL, Pitlick PT, et al. Late pulmonary sequelae of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. N Engl J Med. 1990;323:1793–1799
  11. Halliday HL, Ehrenkranz RA, Doyle LW. Early postnatal (<96 hours) corticosteroids for preventing chronic lung disease in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;CD001146
  12. Halliday HL, Ehrenkranz RA, Doyle LW. Delayed (>3 weeks) postnatal corticosteroids for chronic lung disease in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;CD001145
  13. Halliday HL, Ehrenkranz RA, Doyle LW. Moderately early (7-14 days) postnatal corticosteroids for preventing chronic lung disease in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;CD001144
  14. Groneck P, Speer CP. Pulmonary inflammation in the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Pediatr Pulmonol Suppl. 1997;16:29–30
  15. Wang JY, Yeh TF, Lin YJ, Chen WY, Lin CH. Early postnatal dexamethasone therapy may lessen lung inflammation in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome on mechanical ventilation. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1997;23:193–197
  16. Yoder MC, Chua R, Tepper R. Effect of dexamethasone on pulmonary inflammation and pulmonary function of ventilator-dependent infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1991;143:1044–1048
  17. Tschanz SA, Burri PH. Postnatal lung development and its impairment by glucocorticoids. Pediatr Pulmonol Suppl. 1997;16:247–249
  18. Tschanz SA, Haenni B, Burri PH. Glucocorticoid-induced impairment of lung structure assessed by digital image analysis. Eur J Pediatr. 2002;161:26–30
  19. Kovar J, Willet KE, Hislop A, Sly PD. Impact of postnatal glucocorticoids on early lung development. J Appl Physiol. 2005;98:881–888
  20. Massaro D, Teich N, Maxwell S, Massaro GD, Whitney P. Postnatal development of alveoli: regulation and evidence for a critical period in rats. J Clin Invest. 1985;76:1297–1305
  21. Barrington KJ. The adverse neuro-developmental effects of postnatal steroids in the preterm infant: a systematic review of RCTs. BMC Pediatr. 2001;1:1
  22. Yeh TF, Lin YJ, Huang CC, Chen YJ, Lin CH, Lin HC, et al. Early dexamethasone therapy in preterm infants: a follow-up study. Pediatrics. 1998;101:E7
  23. American Academy of Pediatrics and Canadian Paediatric Society. Postnatal corticosteroids to treat or prevent chronic lung disease in preterm infants. Pediatrics. 2002;109:330–338
  24. Mieskonen S, Eronen M, Malmberg LP, Turpeinen M, Kari MA, Hallman M. Controlled trial of dexamethasone in neonatal chronic lung disease: an 8-year follow-up of cardiopulmonary function and growth. Acta Paediatr. 2003;92:896–904
  25. Gross SJ, Anbar RD, Mettelman BB. Follow-up at 15 years of preterm infants from a controlled trial of moderately early dexamethasone for the prevention of chronic lung disease. Pediatrics. 2005;115:681–687
  26. Jones RA. Randomized, controlled trial of dexamethasone in neonatal chronic lung disease: 13- to 17-year follow-up study, II (Respiratory status, growth, and blood pressure). Pediatrics. 2005;116:379–384
  27. Kothadia JM, O’Shea TM, Roberts D, Auringer ST, Weaver RG, Dillard RG. Randomized placebo-controlled trial of a 42-day tapering course of dexamethasone to reduce the duration of ventilator dependency in very low birth weight infants. Pediatrics. 1999;104:22–27
  28. Kothadia JM, O’Shea TM, Roberts D, Auringer ST, Weaver RG, Dillard RG. Erratum: randomized placebo-controlled trial of a 42-day tapering course of dexamethasone to reduce the duration of ventilator dependency in very low birth weight infants. Pediatrics. 2004;114:1746
  29. Kuczmarski R, Ogden C, Grummer-Strawn L, et al. Advance data from vital and health statistics (Report no. 241). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2000;
  30. American Thoracic Society. Standardization of spirometry, 1994 update. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995;152:1107–1136
  31. Polgar G, Promadhat V. Pulmonary function testing in children: techniques and standards. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1971;
  32. Quanjer PH, Borsboom GJ, Brunekreff B, Zach M, Forche G, Cotes JE, et al. Spirometric reference values for white European children and adolescents: Polgar revisited. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1995;19:135–142
  33. American Thoracic Society. Lung function testing: selection of reference values and interpretative strategies. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1991;144:1202–1218
  34. American Thoracic Society. Single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (transfer factor): recommendations for a standard technique, 1995 update. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995;152:2185–2198
  35. Crapo RO, Casaburi R, Coates AL, Enright PL, Hankinson JL, Irvin CG, et al. Guidelines for methacholine and exercise challenge testing, 1999. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000;161:309–329
  36. Pellegrino R, Viegi G, Brusasco V, Crapo RO, Burgos F, Casaburi R, et al. Interpretative strategies for lung function tests. Eur Respir J. 2005;26:948–968
  37. Oken E, Kleinman KP, Rich-Edwards J, Gillman MW. A nearly continuous measure of birth weight for gestational age using a United States national reference. BMC Pediatr. 2003;3:6
  38. Shennan AT, Dunn MS, Ohlsson A, Lennox K, Hoskins EM. Abnormal pulmonary outcomes in premature infants: prediction from oxygen requirement in the neonatal period. Pediatrics. 1988;82:527–532
  39. Pattishall EN. Pulmonary function testing reference values and interpretations in pediatric training programs. Pediatrics. 1990;85:768–773
  40. Lee M, Diah P, Krauss AN, Auld PA. Functional residual capacity and pulmonary mechanics in premature infants receiving a 12-day dexamethasone course. Am J Perinatol. 1999;16:151–156
  41. Gladstone IM, Ehrenkranz RA, Jacobs HC. Pulmonary function tests and fluid balance in neonates with chronic lung disease during dexamethasone treatment. Pediatrics. 1989;84:1072–1076
  42. Cummings JJ, D’Eugenio DB, Gross SJ. A controlled trial of dexamethasone in preterm infants at high risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia. N Engl J Med. 1989;320:1505–1510
  43. Collaborative Dexamethasone Trial Group. Dexamethasone therapy in neonatal chronic lung disease: an international placebo-controlled trial. Pediatrics. 1991;88:421–427
  44. Doyle LW, Halliday HL, Ehrenkranz RA, Davis PG, Sinclair JC. Impact of postnatal systemic corticosteroids on mortality and cerebral palsy in preterm infants: effect modification by risk for chronic lung disease. Pediatrics. 2005;115:655–661
  45. Mitchell SH, Teague WG. Reduced gas transfer at rest and during exercise in school-age survivors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1998;157:1406–1412
  46. Yeh TF, Lin YJ, Lin HC, Huang CC, Hsieh WS, Lin CH, et al. Outcomes at school age after postnatal dexamethasone therapy for lung disease of prematurity. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:1304–1313
  47. Hofhuis W, de Jongste JC, Merkus PJ. Adverse health effects of prenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke exposure on children. Arch Dis Child. 2003;88:1086–1090
  48. Cook DG, Strachan DP, Carey IM. Health effects of passive smoking, 9 (Parental smoking and spirometric indices in children). Thorax. 1998;53:884–893
  49. Cook DG, Strachan DP. Health effects of passive smoking, 10 (Summary of effects of parental smoking on the respiratory health of children and implications for research). Thorax. 1999;54:357–366
  50. Finer NN, Powers RJ, Ou CH, Durand D, Wirtschafter D, Gould JB. Prospective evaluation of postnatal steroid administration: a 1-year experience from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative. Pediatrics. 2006;117:704–713

 Supported by the General Clinical Research Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (grant M01-RR07122), the National Institutes of Health (grant P01HD047584), and the Intramural Research Support Committee of Wake Forest Medical School and the Brenner Center for Child and Adolescent Health.

PII: S0022-3476(06)01188-7

doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2006.12.013

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 150, Issue 4 , Pages 345-350 , April 2007

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution