Trial of the Use of Antenatal Corticosteroids in Developing Countries (ACT)

• Neonatal mortality at 28 days in low birth weight infants (as a proxy measure for prematurity) [ Time Frame: 28 days ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Use of antenatal corticosteroids in women at risk of preterm birth in all the study clusters [ Time Frame: 48 hours after identification of risk for preterm birth ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Antenatal corticosteroid use will be assessed in all LBW newborn infants, defined as the number of live-born babies in predefined birth weight groups whose mothers received at least one 6-mg antenatal dose of dexamethasone for prevention of neonatal complications, per 1000 live-birth babies born in the same birth weight group.
  
  

One of the United Nations Millennium Summit goals is to reduce the deaths of children <5 years by two-thirds for 2015 (UN, 2000). Given that 38% of all under-five deaths worldwide occur in the first four weeks of life, the goal seems unattainable unless a significant fraction of the neonatal deaths are prevented (Darmstadt et al., 2005). Thus, the provision of health care during the perinatal period in developing countries is a top priority. Preterm birth is a major cause of neonatal mortality, currently responsible for 28% of the deaths overall. As the contribution of preterm birth to neonatal deaths is well above 50% (MacDorman et al., 2005) in middle and high income countries, it is expected that as low income countries improve their development, the relative importance of this cause will increase. One of the most powerful perinatal interventions to reduce neonatal mortality is the administration of antenatal corticosteroids to pregnant women at high risk of preterm birth.

The primary objective will be to evaluate whether a cluster-level multifaceted intervention, including components to improve the identification of pregnancies at high risk of preterm birth and providing and facilitating the appropriate use of steroids, reduces neonatal mortality at 28 days of life in preterm newborns, compared with the standard delivery of care in selected populations of six African, Asian, and Latin American countries.