Table 1.
Randomized controlled trials of corticosteroid use in middle-income countries
| Location, year | Number enrolled | Drug studied | Relative risk (95% confidence interval)
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neonatal death | Respiratory distress syndrome | |||
| Brazil (1997–1998) [25] | 220 | Betamethasone | 0.50 (0.28–0.89) | 0.53 (0.35–0.82) |
| South Africa (1999) [24] | 206 | Dexamethasone | 0.48 (0.15–1.55) | 1.16 (0.75–1.79) |
| Tunisia(1998–1999) [26] | 131 | Betamethasone | 0.46 (0.23–0.93) | 0.17 (0.05–0.55) |
| Jordan (1997–1999) [27] | 137 | Dexamethasone | 0.45 (0.29–0.70) | 0.54 (0.31–0.95) |
| Total a | 694 | — | 0.47 (0.35–0.64) | 0.63 (0.49–0.81) |
a
Meta-analysis of relative risk [11].