Because of premature labour, probability of fetal retardation, discrepance at term of delivery, Rh-incompatibility or
EPH-gestosis 185 patients were hospitalized. 76 pregnant women received twice 1.5 ml Celestan Depot i.m. (4.5
betamethasone acetate and 6mg betamethasome dinatrium
phosphate per injection) within an interval of 24 hours. It was necessary to maintain a
tocolysis for at least 48 hours as a minimum after the first injection of Celestan Depot. The other 109 patients without treatment of
glucocorticoids were considered as a controlgroup. We could show that antepartum application of
betamethasone before the 38. week of gestation was associated with a reduction of RDS in our premature infants. Only one baby of the
betamethasone-treated infants died of
hyaline membrane disease during the first 7 days of life compared with 11 of the control group. In 11 patients patients amniocentesis was performed before the first injection of
glucocorticoids and was repeated 2 to 7 days later. The amniotid fluid
lecithin phosphorus concentration was determined. In the same period of pregnancy and the same iterval the
lecithin phosphours level of amniotic fluid was analysed in 11 other patients who were not rreated with
glucocorticoids. The difference between amniotic fluid
lecithin phosphorus concentration in the first and second anslysis was found significant by a level of significance of alpha = 5%. There was no evidence of an influence of the
therapy with Celestan Depot on this increase. The excretion of oestorgens in the urine of 24 hours was analysed in 22 gradidae before and 7 days after the treatment with
betamethasone. The oestogen values of the day before application of
betamethasone served as baseline figures. All patients showed a market fall in urinary oestrogens excretion, especially after the second day of
therapy. After day 2 the values returned rapidly to baseline values. There were no differences between treated and control groups in Apgar scores at birth or in the incidence of
icterus neonatroum (bilirubine level is greater that 10 mg% in the serum). The results of our study support the hypothesis that in humans
glucocorticoid administration to the fetus accelerates lung maturation. Relatively brief intrauterine exposure of human infants to pharmacological doses of
betamethasone was associated with a substantial reduction in the incidense of RDS.