Wes Onland, Filip Cools, Andre Kroon, Karin Rademaker, Maruschka P Merkus, Peter H Dijk, Henrica L van Straaten, Arjan B Te Pas, Thilo Mohns, Els Bruneel, Arno F van Heijst, Boris W Kramer, Anne Debeer, Inge Zonnenberg, Yoann Marechal, Henry Blom, Katleen Plaskie, Martin Offringa, Anton H van Kaam
Importance: Dexamethasone initiated after the first week of life reduces the rate of death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) but may cause long-term adverse effects in very preterm infants. Hydrocortisone is increasingly used as an alternative, but evidence supporting its efficacy and safety is lacking. Objective: To assess the effect of hydrocortisone initiated between 7 and 14 days after birth on death or BPD in very preterm infants. Design, Setting, and Participants: Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial conducted in 19 neonatal intensive care units in the Netherlands and Belgium from November 15, 2011, to December 23, 2016, among preterm infants with a gestational age of less than 30 weeks and/or birth weight of less than 1250 g who were ventilator dependent between 7 and 14 days of life, with follow-up to hospital discharge ending December 12, 2017...
January 29, 2019: JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association