“Over 1.25 million children who were at least 1 year old assessed for long-term outcomes after preterm exposure to antenatal corticosteroids”

The systematic review and meta-analysis “Evaluation of Long-term Outcomes Associated with Preterm Exposure to Antenatal Corticosteroids” by Kiran Ninan et al. on April 11th 2022, JAMA Pediatrics, generated media interest and was also the subject of a commentary entitled “Use of Antenatal Corticosteroids for Risk of Preterm Birth—Is Timing Everything?” by Dr. Andrea Duncan and colleagues of the CHOP Research Institute in Philadelphia, published in JAMA Pediatrics on April 11th 2022. 

Ninan et al. found that in children born late preterm and at term, the use of antenatal corticosteroids was associated with an increased adjusted risk of neurocognitive and psychological harm. Moreover, half of the children exposed to preterm antenatal corticosteroids ended up being born at term.  

Duncan et al. emphasized this in the commentary, writing that, “As obstetrical and neonatal-perinatal care continue to evolve and improve, findings such as those presented by Ninan et al. should generate new hypotheses and hope.” Moreover, Helio writer Rose Weldon emphasizes a crucial point: “Findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis of long-term outcomes associated with preterm exposure to antenatal corticosteroids suggest that the timing and dose of administration “should be carefully considered.”” Additionally, journalist Amanda D’Ambrosio frames this review as eliciting a paradigm shift on antenatal corticosteroid administration. D’Ambrosio quotes Duncan et al. on how shifting “the timing of receipt” to “the timing of delivery” is crucial. This indicates a major trajectory change for the future of studying this area.  

The study was featured in several online news sites:

Dali S, “Antenatal Corticosteroids Pose Risk of Neurodevelopmental Impairment in Preemies: Study”. Medical Dialogues Daily Dose of Health & Medical News. Published online April 11, 2022. https://medicaldialogues.in/pediatrics-neonatology/news/antenatal-corticosteroids-pose-risk-of-neurodevelopmental-impairment-in-preemies-study-91364.  

D’Ambrosio A, “Antenatal Steroids May Pose Neurologic Risk to Babies Born Full Term—Birth timing—not just dose timing—linked to safety and efficacy of antenatal steroids”. MedPage Today. Published online April 11, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/generalpediatrics/98158.  

Weldon R, “Study findings warrant caution in administering antenatal corticosteroids”. Healio. Published online April 15, 2022. https://www.healio.com/news/primary-care/20220415/study-findings-warrant-caution-in-administering-antenatal-corticosteroids 

Canadian Institute of Health Research: The Faces of Health Research

We are excited to share a piece published in the CIHR’s health research storybook: The faces of health research. Available in the July 2019 CIHR Access Newsletter, ‘Preventing Preterm Birth and its Consequences’ describes Dr. McDonald’s personal experiences, the team’s research on progesterone as a preventative measure against preterm birth, as well as our other current endeavours.

More details are available here.

“Researchers find best strategy to prevent chronic lung disease in preterm infants”

The study “Association of Noninvasive Ventilation Strategies With Mortality and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Among Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in August 2016. This study was co-authored by Dr. Sarah McDonald, the originator of the study, and Dr. Tetsuya Isayama, the lead author.

Together, they compared different ventilation strategies in order to determine how to best ventilate preterm infants and concluded that Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA) was the best.

The study was featured in several online news sites:

  1. Medscape- Reuter Health Information: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/867270
  2. Medical Xpress: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-lisa-strategy-chronic-lung-disease.html
  3. Hamilton Spectator: http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6811732-mcmaster-finds-best-way-to-ventilate-preemies/
  4. Clinical Advisors: http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/pulmonology-information-center/preventing-bronchopulmonary-dysplasia-in-preterm-infants/article/516479/
  5. Deutsches Ärzteblatt: http://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/69976/Fruehgeburten-Sieben-Beatmungsmethoden-im-Vergleich
  6. McMaster University: http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2016/chronic_lung_html

 

Article: Isayama T, Iwami H, McDonald S, Beyene J. Association of noninvasive ventilation strategies with mortality and bronchopulmonary dysplasia among preterm infants. A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016;316(6):611-624; doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.10708

AM900 CHML Radio Feature

On July 6, AM900 CHML Radio featured an interview with Dr. Sarah McDonald, hosted by Jamie West. The interview ran at 12:35 pm that afternoon and discussed Dr. McDonald’s Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded study on predicting and preventing premature labour.

The same day, the Hamilton Spectator also published an article discussing the study: https://www.hamiltonnews.com/news-story/7408680-mcmaster-researchers-trying-to-predict-premature-birth-and-prevent-it/

“McMaster researchers trying to predict premature birth and prevent it”

On July 6, an article in the Hamilton Spectator, “McMaster researchers trying to predict premature birth and prevent it”, featured Dr. Sarah McDonald’s CIHR-funded study on preterm birth.

The study involves analyzing data from thousands of births in Ontario in order to identify factors in the mother’s medical history or in the current pregnancy to better identify women at risk of preterm birth. This will be an important step in the process of developing a clinical tool to assist clinicians in targeting care.

The full article is available at: https://www.hamiltonnews.com/news-story/7408680-mcmaster-researchers-trying-to-predict-premature-birth-and-prevent-it/

“CIHR grants awarded to two studies looking at preemies”

On July 4, McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences published an article, “CIHR grants awarded to two studies looking at preemies”, including a feature on Dr. Sarah McDonald and her work on risk assessment prediction models for preterm birth.

Preterm birth is the leading cause of death and long-term disability in infants, affecting 1 in 12 births in Canada. Dr. Mcdonald’s work aims to create a tool to assist clinicians in identifying which women are at risk of preterm birth to better target care.

The full article is available at:  https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2017/CIHR_grants_awarded_preemies.html