The effect of antenatal steroids on metabolic bone disease of prematurity.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the impact of antenatal steroid administration, a key intervention for reducing early mortality and morbidity in preterm infants, on the development of metabolic bone disease.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study was conducted in a Level III neonatal intensive care unit from October 2020 to December 2023.

Results: It included 173 infants born before 32 weeks of gestation, with a mean birth weight of 1,338 ± 293 g. Metabolic bone disease, diagnosed at four weeks of age based on serum phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels, was identified in 26 (15 %) of the infants. Regression analysis examined prenatal factors, including birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, respiratory distress syndrome, gender, and antenatal steroid exposure, revealing that only lower birth weight was an independent risk factor for metabolic bone disease.

Conclusions: Antenatal steroid administration did not significantly influence the diagnosis of metabolic bone disease when assessed using biochemical markers at four weeks of age. These findings underscore the importance of birth weight in the risk profile for metabolic bone disease while indicating that antenatal steroids are not a contributing factor.