Abstract
Creatinine clearance (Ccr) and renal sodium (Na+) excretion were measured in 10 premature infants (gestational age <34 weeks) whose mothers had received dexamethasone before delivery (group D) and in 11 whose mothers were not so treated (control, group C). Babies were studied twice: on days 2–5 (study 1. all infants) and days 6–10 (study 2, six infants in each group). In study 1, absolute and fractional Na+ excretion were significantly lower (P<0.01) and urinary K+∶Na+ ratio significantly higher (P<0.025) in group D than in group C, while Ccr did not differ between groups. In study 2, Ccr in group D had increased compared both with values obtained in the same babies in study 1 (P<0.05) and with group C babies in study 2 (P<0.05), but significant differences between groups in urinary Na+ excretion and urinary K+∶Na+ ratio were no longer found. We conclude that exogenous glucocorticoids accelerate maturation of renal function in immature human infants, probably by inducing tubular Na+. K+-ATPase activity. Our findings support the view that endogenous glucocorticoid hormones may play an important part in the normal maturation process.
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Al-Dahan, J., Stimmler, L., Chantler, C. et al. The effect of antenatal dexamethasone administration on glomerular filtration rate and renal sodium excretion in premature infants. Pediatr Nephrol 1, 131–135 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00849282
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00849282