Elsevier, Revue Française d'Allergologie et d'Immunologie Clinique, 7(45), p. 515-520
DOI: 10.1016/j.allerg.2005.08.001
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Systemic or inhaled steroids are regularly prescribed to the preterm infant, since the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia remains high. Their short-term beneficial effects should be weighed against their potentially very severe long-term deleterious effects. Their impact on lung growth and development is time-, dose- and steroid dependent, although this has been less well studied compared to the brain. Dexamethasone has been shown to be the most high-risk molecule, but given that the other steroid agents have not been proved entirely innocuous, further randomized studies are urgently required.