Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia or chronic lung disease remains a serious problem for infants <1500 gms. Systemic corticosteroids have been used to reverse the inflammatory process associated with this disease. In addition, antenatal corticosteroid has been used to induce lung maturity and is now widely recommended for women at risk for premature delivery. Glucocorticoid treatment affects the metabolism of many different organs and tissues in the premature neonate. This proposal aims to prospectively evaluate the combined effects of antenatal and postnatal corticosteroid exposure on the catabolic state and blood pressure levels in the infant ≤ 1500 grams. Data was obtained retrospectively from medical records on all the infants less than≤ 32 weeks and ≤1500gms from July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996. Data collected included: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr.), white blood cell count (WBC) and morning blood pressure (BP) values on admission, pre-steroid and post-steroid treatment. All infant's mothers received antenatal corticosteroids. Infants were then divided into two groups: post-natal steroid treatment, no post-natal steroids.Table

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These results demonstrate that postnatal dexamethasone is associated with an elevation in serum BUN with a trend toward elevated WBC count in infants<1500gms. There was no effect on creatinine or blood pressure values in the infants exposed to both antenatal and postnatal corticosteroids. The elevated serum BUN at this time may increase tissue catabolism and protein depletion in this population. Furthermore, the long term effects of elevated BUN values in response to this exposure needs to be assessed in a larger population.