Comparing neonatal respiratory morbidity in neonates delivered at term by elective Caesarean section with and without dexamethasone: retrospective cohort study

Objective: To assess the effect of dexamethasone on neonatal respiratory morbidity in babies delivered by early term elective lower segment Caesarean section. Method: The retrospective cohort study was conducted at a secondary level hospital in Karachi. It reviewed the medical record of pregnant women and their babies who were delivered by elective lower segment Caesarean section between January 1 and June 30, 2013, at 37-38+6 weeks of pregnancy. The women were divided into exposed group (Group A) who received prophylactic dexamethasone, and non-exposed group (Group B) who did not receive dexamethasone Neonatal respiratory morbidity was compared between the two groups. Data was analysed using SPSS 19.Results: The 196 subjects in the study were equally divided in two groups. In Group A, only 1(1%) baby developed transient tachypnoea compared to 10(10%) babies in Group B (p=0.005). Besides, 11(11%) babies were admitted to nursery in Group B compared to 1(1%) in Group A (p=0.005). No baby was referred to any tertiary care hospital for intensive care.Conclusion: Beneficial effects of prophylactic dexamethasone in neonatal respiratory morbidity were found, but further prospective studies with large sample size are required