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Local Physician Helps Co-Author Study That Could Impact State’s Infant Mortality Rate

Study finds key to reducing rate of respiratory complications in late preterm births

DAYTON, OH (February 16, 2016) – A study released recently in the New England Journal of Medicine and co-authored by a Miami Valley Hospital physician may hold the key to helping reduce the dismal infant mortality rates in Ohio.

David McKenna, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, was one of several physicians around the country who participated in the study, conducted by The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network.

The purpose of the study – which included 150 patients from Miami Valley Hospital – was to determine if the use of steroids in women at-risk for late preterm birth would safeguard their baby from experiencing respiratory complications after birth. The results of the five-year study were a resounding yes.

Physicians found that by administering the steroid betamethasone to women at-risk for delivering their baby between 34 to 36 weeks gestation significantly reduced the rate of neonatal respiratory complications in the baby after delivery. This discovery not only gives hope to the hundreds of babies born prematurely, but also to the long-term outlook on infant survival rates in the state, which are among the lowest in the country.

“This treatment option can definitely be beneficial to moms who have premature babies,” Dr. McKenna says. “It could mean less days in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), and more likely for them to go home sooner.”

Respiratory complications of preterm birth play a significant role in infant mortality and morbidity, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A baby’s lungs are not fully developed until they are at least 37 weeks gestation. Those that are born prematurely often face serious complications such as respiratory distress syndrome (harsh, irregular breathing), transient tachypnea (rapid breathing), or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (deterioration of the lungs).

These complications often require longer hospital stays, increased medical intervention and potentially long-term effects on the baby’s health. However, babies whose mothers participated in the trial use of the steroids experienced a reduction in the number of these complicated respiratory conditions.

“If we are likely to decrease the potential complications of premature birth, we can hopefully have an impact on decreasing infant mortality – something that has been a point of focus especially at our state level,” says Dr. McKenna.

In fall 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its most recent statistics on infant mortality, and the results were not positive for Ohio. The state ranked 45th in infant mortality overall. In 2013, nationwide infant mortality was at 5.96 deaths per 1,000 live births, while Ohio’s rate of 7.33 is 21 percent above the national average.

“It’s exciting to know that Miami Valley Hospital and the Greater Dayton area has played a part in such leading-edge research that could potentially affect the trajectory of infant survival rates,” Dr. McKenna says. “Women should know that there is high-level prenatal care in their own backyard.”

Dr. McKenna is currently involved in several other ongoing studies through the NICHD network including one that is testing the impact elective inductions of women at 39 weeks gestation have on C-section rates, and the measures that can be taken to prevent pre-term birth of twin gestations.

For more information on Miami Valley Hospital’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Ultrasound and Genetics program, visit www.mvh.org/maternity.

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