Related Experiment Videos
The effect of betamethasone on salivary estriol
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah, Georgia 31403-3089, USA.
Objective:
Study of the degree and pattern of salivary estriol suppression after administration of betamethasone.
Study Design:
A total of 26 patients with singleton pregnancies (> 24 but < 35 weeks' gestation) in preterm labor with intact membranes had salivary estriol collected prior to betamethasone administration and then daily in late afternoon to evening. All patients were receiving magnesium sulfate. Five patients received a second dose of steroids 1 week after the first. Specimens were frozen and later batch analyzed.
Results:
Betamethasone induced a mean 35.1 +/- 18.2% decrease in salivary estriol which reached its nadir in 1-6 days. By day 6, the salivary estriol in all patients remained suppressed. A second dose of betamethasone caused a further decrease in estriol.
Conclusion:
Betamethasone suppressed salivary estriol in all patients, consistent with the effect of glucocorticoids on fetal adrenal estriol precursors. The suppression persisted for at least 1 week.