Association between Corticosteroid Administration in Pregnant Women with COVID-19 and Neonatal Outcomes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran,

3 Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran,

Abstract

Background: The evidence for the effect of corticosteroid administration on neonates in pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 is rare. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the administration of corticosteroids on pregnant women with COVID-19 on neonatal metabolic outcomes of hypoglycemia and hyperbilirubinemia.
Methods: The present retrospective cohort study was conducted on pregnant women with COVID-19 referred to Mousavi Hospital in Zanjan, Iran in 2020. We compared post-delivery complications in women who had received corticosteroids with a control group. The data were extracted from the medical records of the patients by a resident of the gynecology. The chi-square test was used to compare the rate of hyperbilirubinemia and hypoglycemia between groups.
Results: Of a total of 71 investigated patients, only 32 received non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs),. The mean age of the patients was 29.77±6.87 years and there was not a significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, BMI, education, blood sugar, bilirubin, neonate weight, and 1 and 5-minute Apgar score (P>0.05). In the corticosteroid-receiving group, a significantly higher rate of hypoglycemia (37.5% vs. 7.69%, P=0.002) and hyperbilirubinemia (25% vs. 5.13%, P=0.02) was reported.
Conclusion: The results suggested that the administration of corticosteroids as a treatment modality for pregnant women with COVID-19 is associated with an increased rate of neonatal hypoglycemia and hyperbilirubinemia. Therefore, glycemic control is necessary for neonates born from pregnant women with COVID-19 exposed to corticosteroids during the pregnancy.
 
 

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Neonatology
Volume 13, Issue 4
October 2022
Pages 34-38

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