Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 163, Issue 3, September 2013, Pages 666-671.e1
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original Article
Hydrocortisone Treatment for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Brain Volumes in Preterm Infants

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.04.001Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open access

Objective

To assess whether there was an adverse effect on brain growth after hydrocortisone (HC) treatment for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in a large cohort of infants without dexamethasone exposure.

Study design

Infants who received HC for BPD between 2005 and 2011 and underwent magnetic resonance imaging at term-equivalent age were included. Control infants born in Geneva (2005-2006) and Utrecht (2007-2011) were matched to the infants treated with HC according to segmentation method, sex, and gestational age. Infants with overt parenchymal pathology were excluded. Multivariable analysis was used to determine if there was a difference in brain volumes between the 2 groups.

Results

Seventy-three infants treated with HC and 73 matched controls were included. Mean gestational age was 26.7 weeks, and mean birth weight was 906 g. After correction for gestational age, postmenstrual age at time of scanning, the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage, and birth weight z-score, no differences were found between infants treated with HC and controls in total brain tissue or cerebellar volumes.

Conclusions

In the absence of associated parenchymal brain injury, no reduction in brain tissue or cerebellar volumes could be found at term-equivalent age between infants with or without treatment with HC for BPD.

3D
3-Dimensional
BPD
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
HC
Hydrocortisone
IVH
Intraventricular hemorrhage
MR
Magnetic resonance
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging
TE
Echo time
TR
Repetition time

Cited by (0)

This study includes infants participating in the Neobrain study (LSHM-CT-2006-036534, contract number 036534), infants from an earlier study on preterm brain development funded by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (project 94527022), and infants from a study supported by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Termeulen fund, and the Young Investigator Exchange Program Fellowship of the International Pediatric Research Foundation. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.