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Antenatal Corticosteroids For Women At Risk Of Imminent Preterm Birth In Low-Resource Countries: The Case For Equipoise And The Need For Efficacy Trials, Joshua P. Vogel, Olufemi T. Oladapo, Cynthia Pileggi-Castro, Ebunoluwa A. Adejuyigbe, Fernando Althabe, Shabina Ariff, Adejumoke Idowu Ayede, Abdullah H. Baqui, Anthony Costello, Davy M. Chikamata, Caroline Crowther, Bukola Fawole, Luz Gibbons, Alan H. Jobe, Monica Lulu Kapasa, John Kinuthia, Alka Kriplani, Oluwafemi Kuti, James Neilson, Janna Patterson, Gilda Piaggio, Rahat Qureshi, Zahida Qureshi, Mari Jeeva Sankar, Jeffrey S. A. Stringer, Marleen Temmerman, Khalid Yunis, Rajiv Bahl, A. Metin Gülmezoglu

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

The scientific basis for antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) for women at risk of preterm birth has rapidly changed in recent years. Two landmark trials—the Antenatal Corticosteroid Trial and the Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids Trial—have challenged the long-held assumptions on the comparative health benefits and harms regarding the use of ACS for preterm birth across all levels of care and contexts, including resource-limited settings. Researchers, clinicians, programme managers, policymakers and donors working in low-income and middle-income countries now face challenging questions of whether, where and how ACS can be used to optimise outcomes for both women and preterm newborns.

In this article, …