Effect of antenatal azithromycin for Ureaplasma spp. on neonatal outcome at ≤30 weeks' gestational age.

BACKGROUND: Ureaplasma spp. in the maternal genitourinary tract has come to attention as a cause of preterm labor, spontaneous abortion, chorioamnionitis and adverse outcomes. A few controversies, however, still remain, namely, whether it should be treated aggressively or not. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal azithromycin (AZ) treatment for Ureaplasma colonization on neonatal morbidities including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). METHODS: A retrospective case-control study of preterm babies delivered at ≤30 weeks of gestational age (GA) from 2012 to 2016 was conducted. Infants whose mothers had confirmed Ureaplasma colonization and treatment with AZ (m-AZ, cases) were matched by GA to control subjects whose mothers did not have Ureaplasma colonization. A subgroup analysis (nUU(+), infants with neonatal respiratory Ureaplasma colonization; nUU(-), infants without colonization) was also performed. RESULTS: Fifty-five control subjects were matched to 110 m-AZ subjects. The incidence of preterm premature rupture of membranes (P = 0.003) and of moderate-severe BPD (P = 0.010) was significantly higher in the m-AZ group. On subgroup analysis with post-hoc analysis (m-AZ + nUU(+) [I, n = 55] vs m-AZ + nUU(-) [II, n = 55] vs controls [n = 55]), the incidence of moderate-severe BPD was significantly different: 26% (I) vs 22% (II) vs 7% (controls), P = 0.033. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal Ureaplasma colonization was associated with moderate-severe BPD despite the use of AZ treatment. In addition, if the neonatal respiratory tract was colonized, then moderate-severe BPD developed even with maternal AZ treatment. Hence, selective antenatal and postnatal treatment of Ureaplasma colonization would be needed to control BPD development.

The different effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy on body mass index and growth between normal-weight and overweight girls with central precocious puberty.

PURPOSE: The effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment on body mass index (BMI) are controversial in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP). We therefore evaluated auxological parameters during GnRHa therapy in patients with CPP, specifically focusing on changes in BMI. METHODS: Seventy-seven girls with idiopathic CPP who underwent GnRHa therapy were retrospectively recruited. We investigated BMI changes during the treatment period after stratifying them according to baseline BMI status as follows: normal (BMI percentile of <85th) and overweight groups (BMI percentile of ≥85th). RESULTS: The incidence of overweight/obesity (40.3%/23.4%) was very high in the girls with CPP. In the overall study population, no significant BMI change was observed during the GnRHa treatment period. However, when stratified according to baseline BMI status, the normal-weight group showed a significant increase in BMI-standard deviation score (SDS), whereas the overweight group showed no change in BMI-SDS. Baseline BMI-SDS was an independent predictor of changes in BMI during the GnRHa treatment period. Changes in weight-SDS were similar, but changes in height-SDS were significantly greater in the overweight group than in the normal-weight group, which explains the observed difference in BMI-SDS. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the difference in the pattern of BMI changes among our CPP patients suggests that delayed puberty induced by GnRHa treatment may have different effects on linear growth according to baseline body composition. This study underscores the importance of individualized lifestyle intervention in CPP children.