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Postnatal corticosteroids for transient tachypnoea of the newborn

Bruschettini, Matteo LU orcid ; Moresco, Luca ; Calevo, Maria Grazia and Romantsik, Olga LU (2020) In The Cochrane database of systematic reviews 3.
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Transient tachypnoea of the newborn (TTN) is characterized by tachypnoea and signs of respiratory distress. Transient tachypnoea typically appears within the first two hours of life in term and late preterm newborns. The administration of corticosteroids might compensate for the impaired hormonal changes which occur when infants are delivered late preterm, or at term but before the onset of spontaneous labour (elective caesarean section). Corticosteroids might improve the clearance of liquid from the lungs, thus reducing the effort required to breathe and improving respiratory distress. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to assess whether postnatal corticosteroids - compared to placebo, no treatment or any other... (More)

BACKGROUND: Transient tachypnoea of the newborn (TTN) is characterized by tachypnoea and signs of respiratory distress. Transient tachypnoea typically appears within the first two hours of life in term and late preterm newborns. The administration of corticosteroids might compensate for the impaired hormonal changes which occur when infants are delivered late preterm, or at term but before the onset of spontaneous labour (elective caesarean section). Corticosteroids might improve the clearance of liquid from the lungs, thus reducing the effort required to breathe and improving respiratory distress. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to assess whether postnatal corticosteroids - compared to placebo, no treatment or any other drugs administered to treat TTN - are effective and safe in the treatment of TTN in infants born at 34 weeks' gestational age or more. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2019, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1996 to 19 February 2019), Embase (1980 to 19 February 2019) and CINAHL (1982 to 19 February 2019). We applied no language restrictions. We searched clinical trial registries for ongoing studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized controlled trials and cluster-randomized trials comparing postnatal corticosteroids versus placebo or no treatment or any other drugs administered to infants born at 34 weeks' gestational age or more and less than three days of age with TTN. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: For each of the included trials, two review authors independently extracted data (e.g. number of participants, birth weight, gestational age, duration of oxygen therapy, need for continuous positive airway pressure, need for mechanical ventilation, duration of mechanical ventilation, etc.) and assessed the risk of bias (e.g. adequacy of randomization and blinding, completeness of follow-up). The primary outcomes considered in this review were need for nasal continuous positive airway pressure and need for mechanical ventilation. We used the GRADE approach to assess the certainty of the evidence. MAIN RESULTS: One trial, which included 49 infants, met the inclusion criteria. The trial compared the use of inhaled corticosteroids (budesonide) with placebo. We found no differences between groups in terms of need for nasal continuous positive airway pressure (risk ratio (RR) 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65 to 2.51; 1 study, 49 participants) and need for mechanical ventilation (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.05 to 5.38; 1 study, 49 participants). The type of mechanical ventilation used in the included study was high-frequency oscillation. Tests for heterogeneity were not applicable for any of the analyses as only one study was included. Out of the secondary outcomes we deemed to be of greatest importance to patients, the study only reported on duration of hospital stay, which was no different between groups. The quality of the evidence is very low, due to the imprecision of the estimates and indirectness. We identified no ongoing trials. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Given the paucity and very low quality of the available evidence, we are unable to determine the benefits and harms of postnatal administration of either inhaled or systemic corticosteroids for the management of TTN.

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organization
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
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in
The Cochrane database of systematic reviews
volume
3
article number
CD013222
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:32180216
  • scopus:85082020456
ISSN
1361-6137
DOI
10.1002/14651858.CD013222.pub2
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
78a514b2-d432-4f15-bc4a-b9b4d80ef688
date added to LUP
2020-04-06 12:40:24
date last changed
2024-05-01 08:53:00
@article{78a514b2-d432-4f15-bc4a-b9b4d80ef688,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Transient tachypnoea of the newborn (TTN) is characterized by tachypnoea and signs of respiratory distress. Transient tachypnoea typically appears within the first two hours of life in term and late preterm newborns. The administration of corticosteroids might compensate for the impaired hormonal changes which occur when infants are delivered late preterm, or at term but before the onset of spontaneous labour (elective caesarean section). Corticosteroids might improve the clearance of liquid from the lungs, thus reducing the effort required to breathe and improving respiratory distress. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to assess whether postnatal corticosteroids - compared to placebo, no treatment or any other drugs administered to treat TTN - are effective and safe in the treatment of TTN in infants born at 34 weeks' gestational age or more. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2019, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1996 to 19 February 2019), Embase (1980 to 19 February 2019) and CINAHL (1982 to 19 February 2019). We applied no language restrictions. We searched clinical trial registries for ongoing studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized controlled trials and cluster-randomized trials comparing postnatal corticosteroids versus placebo or no treatment or any other drugs administered to infants born at 34 weeks' gestational age or more and less than three days of age with TTN. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: For each of the included trials, two review authors independently extracted data (e.g. number of participants, birth weight, gestational age, duration of oxygen therapy, need for continuous positive airway pressure, need for mechanical ventilation, duration of mechanical ventilation, etc.) and assessed the risk of bias (e.g. adequacy of randomization and blinding, completeness of follow-up). The primary outcomes considered in this review were need for nasal continuous positive airway pressure and need for mechanical ventilation. We used the GRADE approach to assess the certainty of the evidence. MAIN RESULTS: One trial, which included 49 infants, met the inclusion criteria. The trial compared the use of inhaled corticosteroids (budesonide) with placebo. We found no differences between groups in terms of need for nasal continuous positive airway pressure (risk ratio (RR) 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65 to 2.51; 1 study, 49 participants) and need for mechanical ventilation (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.05 to 5.38; 1 study, 49 participants). The type of mechanical ventilation used in the included study was high-frequency oscillation. Tests for heterogeneity were not applicable for any of the analyses as only one study was included. Out of the secondary outcomes we deemed to be of greatest importance to patients, the study only reported on duration of hospital stay, which was no different between groups. The quality of the evidence is very low, due to the imprecision of the estimates and indirectness. We identified no ongoing trials. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Given the paucity and very low quality of the available evidence, we are unable to determine the benefits and harms of postnatal administration of either inhaled or systemic corticosteroids for the management of TTN.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bruschettini, Matteo and Moresco, Luca and Calevo, Maria Grazia and Romantsik, Olga}},
  issn         = {{1361-6137}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{The Cochrane database of systematic reviews}},
  title        = {{Postnatal corticosteroids for transient tachypnoea of the newborn}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013222.pub2}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/14651858.CD013222.pub2}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}