Introduction: Antenatal glucocorticoid (AGC) therapy is routinely given to pregnant women when preterm delivery is expected. Systemic inflammatory indices are thought to have predictive value in some neonatal diseases. However, the effect of AGC on systemic inflammatory indices is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AGC treatment on systemic inflammatory indices, morbidities and mortality in preterm infants.

Methods: All preterm babies born at < 32 weeks of gestation were evaluated retrospectively and included in the study. Systemic inflammatory indices, demographic characteristics and clinical results were compared by dividing the babies into groups based on the application of AGC to their mothers (24 mg betamethasone, 12 mg betamethasone and non-AGC).

Results: A total of 869 preterm infants were evaluated in the study. As the use of AGC increased, respiratory distress syndrome and mortality were found to decrease significantly (p < 0.001 and p = 0.018, respectively). No effect of AGC on other preterm morbidities and systemic inflammatory indices was detected (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: AGC had no effect on systemic inflammatory indices in preterm infants. The effect of AGC, especially on the lung, may be due to local effects rather than systemic effects.