Effect of antenatal corticosteroid treatment on the fetal lung: a magnetic resonance imaging study.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol
; 38(1): 94-8, 2011 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21308834
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the effect of antenatal corticosteroid treatment on the fetal lung using magnetic resonance imaging.METHODS:
Prospective evaluation of 30 consecutive singleton pregnancies that received antenatal corticosteroid treatment (12 mg betamethasone i.m. on admission and 24 h later) because of threatened preterm birth. Fetal lungs were assessed using T2-weighted single-shot fast spin-echo images of a whole-body 1.5-T superconducting unit twice less than 24 h and more than 48 h after the first course of betamethasone. Lung volumes and lung-liver signal-intensity ratios were compared between the two time points.RESULTS:
Nine patients had to be excluded from the analysis because they did not complete the study protocol as required. Ten female and 11 male fetuses with a gestational age between 23.4 and 32.6 weeks were included in the final analysis. The mean gestational age of included fetuses was 27.5 ± 2.8 weeks. Using a linear regression model, a significant influence of gestational age on ln fetal lung volume (r(2)=0.414; P<0.0001) and lung-liver signal-intensity ratios (r(2)=0.271, P<0.0001) was found. Between the two evaluated time points, a significant increase in lung-liver signal-intensity ratios (2.34 ± 0.72 vs. 3.22 ± 1.12, P<0.0001), but not in mean lung volumes (46.6 ± 20.7 cm(3) vs. 48.8 ± 16.0 cm(3) , P=0.292), was observed.CONCLUSION:
We demonstrate a significant increase in lung-liver signal-intensity ratios after antenatal corticosteroid treatment for induction of lung maturation which most likely reflects changing properties of the fetal lung parenchyma. This could potentially be useful in non-invasively assessing the effect of antenatal corticosteroid treatment on the lungs of fetuses at risk for preterm birth.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Betametasona
/
Imagen por Resonancia Magnética
/
Corticoesteroides
/
Madurez de los Órganos Fetales
/
Pulmón
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Newborn
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol
Asunto de la revista:
DIAGNOSTICO POR IMAGEM
/
GINECOLOGIA
/
OBSTETRICIA
Año:
2011
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Austria