A study of cellular immunity in newborns after prevention of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)

Cellular immune responsiveness against infections was evaluated in four groups of newborns. The first group was composed of preterm newborns whose mothers had received betamethasone for prevention of RDS, the second group of preterm newborns whose mothers had received ambroxol for prevention of RDS, the third group of preterm newborns whose mothers had not received any drug enhancing surfactant production, and the fourth group were healthy-term infants. A reduction of OKT4+ cells and functional deficits of neutrophils were found in preterm infants born to mothers treated with steroids, whereas no functional abnormalities of immune-competent cells were observed in preterm infants born to mothers treated with ambroxol.