Prevention of Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Preterm Infants by Antenatal Ambroxol: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of antenatal ambroxol as a preventive therapeutic of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in preterm infants.

Methods Randomized controlled trials of antenatal ambroxol treatment for RDS in preterm infants published up to March 2012 were downloaded from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, and Google Scholar databases. Data were evaluated for homogeneity and analyzed by the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan software.

Result Twelve trials involving a total of 1335 premature infants were selected for meta-analysis. Neonatal RDS was lower in the ambroxol-treated group than in the groups treated with placebo (risk ratio [RR] = 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24 to 0.59) or corticosteroids (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.78). The ambroxol-treated group had lower risk of neonatal infection than the corticosteroid-treated group (RR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.73).

Conclusions In cases of inevitable preterm birth, antenatal ambroxol is recommended over corticosteroids to prevent neonatal RDS. However, further research is necessary to determine the optimal treatment dosages and regimens of antenatal ambroxol to achieve consistent superior results over corticosteroids.

Keywords

preterm infants - respiratory distress syndrome - antenatal - ambroxol

Funding

This work was supported by Hangzhou Science and Technology Development Project, grant number 20110833B02.

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