Auditory neural maturation after exposure to multiple courses of antenatal betamethasone in premature infants as evaluated by auditory brainstem response

OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to determine if multiple courses of antenatal betamethasone affect auditory neural maturation in 28 to 32 weeks' gestational age infants. PATIENTS AND METHODS. A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare auditory neural maturation between premature infants exposed to 1 course of betamethasone and infants exposed to >= 2 courses of betamethasone. Inclusion criteria included all 28 to 32 weeks' gestational age infants delivered between July 1996 and December 1998 who had auditory brainstem response testing performed ( 80- dB click stimuli at a repetition rate of 39.9/ second) within 24 hours of postnatal life as part of bilirubin- auditory studies. Infants with toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes infections, chromosomal disorders, unstable conditions, exposure to antenatal dexamethasone, and exposure to < 1 complete course of betamethasone were excluded. Auditory waveforms were categorized into response types on response replicability and peak identification as types 1 through 4 ( type 1 indicating most mature). Absolute and interpeak wave latencies were measured when applicable. Categorical and continuous variables were analyzed by using the chi(2) test and Student's t test, respectively. RESULTS. Of 174 infants studied, 123 received antenatal steroids. Of these, 50 received 1 course and 29 received >= 2 courses of betamethasone. There were no significant differences in perinatal demographics between the 2 groups. After controlling for confounding variables, there was no significant difference in mean absolute wave latencies, mean interpeak latencies, or distribution of response type between the 2 groups. There also was no significant difference in any auditory brainstem response parameters between infants exposed to 1 course of betamethasone ( n = 50) and infants exposed to > 2 courses of betamethasone ( n = 17). CONCLUSION. Compared with a single recommended course of antenatal steroids, multiple courses of antenatal betamethasone are not associated with a deleterious effect on auditory neural maturation in 28 to 32 weeks' gestational age infants.