{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T05:24:53Z","timestamp":1767677093385,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760918400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100024396","name":"Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100024396","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BJOG"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n To describe current variations in antenatal steroid (AS) course durations in England, Wales, and Scotland according to gestational age, region, and drug. A secondary objective was to assess the availability of AS course duration data over time and by region.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design<\/jats:title>\n Population based observational study.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Setting<\/jats:title>\n UK perinatal practice.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Sample<\/jats:title>\n Routinely collected data from the National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) relating to preterm infants (<\u200934\u2009weeks) born between January 2024 and February 2025.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n The numbers and proportions were calculated of: 1. women receiving a complete course of AS, 2. AS course duration availability, 3. length of AS course categorised as short (<\u200918\u2009h), standard (18\u201336\u2009h), or long (>\u200936\u2009h). Descriptive statistics and Chi\u2010squared tests assessed variation by region, drug, gestational age, and month for course duration, and by region and month for data availability.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Outcome Measures<\/jats:title>\n Primary: proportion of complete AS courses classified as short. Secondary: proportion of complete AS courses with course duration data available.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Among 13\u2009489 preterm births (<\u200934\u2009weeks), 8640 were exposed to a complete antenatal steroid (\n AS<\/jats:styled-content>\n ) course; course duration data was available for 4428 (51.3%). Among these, 2069 (46.7%) were short, 2202 (49.7%) standard, and 157 (3.5%) long. The proportion of mothers receiving short\n AS<\/jats:styled-content>\n courses were consistent over time but varied widely by region (Northern 17\/223: 7.62%, North\u2013West 359\/588 61.05%\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.001). Short courses were more commonly used with dexamethasone (1047\/1928: 54.30%) than betamethasone (847\/2081: 40.75%) (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.001). The proportion of full courses with documented course duration data improved from 35.3% (223\/631) in March 2024 to 61.5% (339\/551) by February 2025 (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.001), ranging regionally from 30.5% (156\/512, London South) to 67.6% (223\/330, Northern).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n Despite national and international guidelines, shortened\n AS<\/jats:styled-content>\n courses are common and vary by region. Variation in course duration undermines current efforts to evaluate and improve perinatal care. Clinicians should review their\n AS<\/jats:styled-content>\n practices and guidance and ensure accurate documentation of drug type and timing.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.70059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T09:44:09Z","timestamp":1760953449000},"page":"480-486","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Shortened Courses of Antenatal Steroids in Preterm Births: An Observational Study"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"133","author":[{"given":"Katherine","family":"Pettinger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds General Infirmary Leeds UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Humfrey","family":"Legge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health London UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Olivia","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of York Heslington UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Narges","family":"Hopper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Bradford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8701-4912","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sam","family":"Oddie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Bradford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD004454.pub4"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","unstructured":"The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) \u201cNational Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) Summary Report on 2021 Data \u201d(2022)."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapediatrics.2017.0602"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","unstructured":"NICE \u201cPreterm Labour and Birth NG25 \u201d(2022)."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1471\u20100528.17027"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","unstructured":"The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) \u201cNational Neonatal Audit Programme. A Guide to the 2023 Audit Measures \u201d(2024) https:\/\/www.rcpch.ac.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\u201001\/2023_nnap_audit_measures_guide_v1.2_jan_24_compressed.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/archdischild\u20102024\u2010327418"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","unstructured":"Clevermed \u201cWhat is BadgerNet? \u201d(2023) https:\/\/www.clevermed.com\/badgernet\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","unstructured":"NHS England \u201cSaving Babies' Lives: Version 3 \u201d(2023)."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/GCO.0000000000000047"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejogrb.2025.02.017"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","first-page":"201.e1\u201311","article-title":"Betamethasone Dosing Interval: 12 or 24 Hours Apart? A Randomized, Noninferiority Open Trial","volume":"206","author":"Khandelwal M.","year":"2012","journal-title":"American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01443615.2017.1413080"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2023.38055"}],"container-title":["BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/1471-0528.70059","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T05:12:33Z","timestamp":1767676353000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/1471-0528.70059"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/1471-0528.70059"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/1471-0528.70059","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1470-0328","1471-0528"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"1470-0328"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1471-0528"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-05-21","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-10-01","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-10-20","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}