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Disparities in the use of antenatal corticosteroids among women with hypertension in North Carolina

Journal of Perinatology volume 40, pages 456–462 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate antenatal corticosteroids (ANS) use in pregnant women with hypertension.

Study design

Retrospective analysis of ANS use in the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina between 2015 and 2017.

Results

Twenty-five centers participated, with 9% (1580/17,692) of mothers delivering at <34 weeks; of these, 81% (1286/1580) received a full course of ANS, which was not different between phases (p = 0.32), or between Level III/IV neonatal intensive care units (NICUs; 82%), and I/II NICUs (76%) (p = 0.05). In Level III/IV NICUs, White mothers were more likely to receive ANS (87%) than African Americans (77%) or other race/ethnicity (80%) (including Hispanics) (p = 0.001). ANS use did not differ among mothers with different payers (p = 0.94).

Conclusion

The rates of full ANS courses did not significantly increase from 2015–2017 and disparities persisted. Targeted efforts to improve ANS exposures among hypertensive African American and Hispanic mothers, as well as in community hospital settings are needed.

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Acknowledgements

Vermont Oxford Network played no role in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting. The views, conclusions, and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not represent those of the Vermont Oxford Network.

Funding

NY received support from the National Institutes of Health (K12 HD043494-14).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu, Rachel G. Greenberg, Noelle Younge, Margarita Bidegain & C. Michael Cotten

  3. Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA

    Rachel G. Greenberg

  4. Perinatal Quality Collaborative North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rachel G. Greenberg, Martin McCaffrey, Susan Gutierrez, Jodi DeJoseph, Keith M. Cochran & Arthur Ollendorff

  5. Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Martin McCaffrey

  6. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Amy Murtha

  7. Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) OB/GYN Specialists, Asheville, NC, USA

    Arthur Ollendorff

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  1. Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu
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Correspondence to Margarita Bidegain.

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Puia-Dumitrescu, M., Greenberg, R.G., Younge, N. et al. Disparities in the use of antenatal corticosteroids among women with hypertension in North Carolina. J Perinatol 40, 456–462 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0555-y

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