Abstract
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.
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