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  1. Martin Ward Platt, Deputy Editor

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Chasing an ASTEC

The ASTECS trial, first planned almost 20 years ago, opened in 1995. It is still of interest now because of the lingering concern that the improvement in short term outcomes from the administration of antenatal betamethasone to mothers undergoing elective caesarean section at term might be counterbalanced by adverse effects that might only become manifest in the long term. Such effects might plausibly include more (or less) atopic disease, or altered cognitive function. So Stutchfield et al are to be congratulated on their tenacious follow up of the subjects of the original trial to evaluate rates of asthma and atopic disease, and measures of behavioural and educational function, in subjects now aged between 8 and 15 years. The results are reassuring: there is a good case for using antenatal betamethasone for term elective caesarean section, without concerns about long term harm. See page F195

A.R.T. and preterm outcome

It is well known that artificial reproductive technologies (ART) are associated with both preterm delivery and a two-fold …

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