[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 146 (Friday, July 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46479-46480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19148]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Consensus Development Conference on Antenatal Corticosteroids 
Revisited: Repeat Courses

    Notice is hereby given of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
Consensus Development Conference on ``Antenatal Corticosteroids 
Revisited: Repeat Courses,'' which will be held August 17-18, 2000, in 
Masur Auditorium of the NIH Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike, 
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892. The conference begins at 8 a.m. on August 
17, and at 8:30 a.m. on August 18 and is open to the public.
    Preterm delivery is a major cause of death and illness in infants. 
Corticosteroid treatment of pregnant women delivering prematurely was 
first introduced in 1972 to enhance fetal lung maturity. Subsequent 
research has focused on the ability of glucocorticoids to reduce 
mortality and brain injury in preterm neonates.
    In 1994 the National Institutes of Health sponsored a Consensus 
Development Conference on the Effect of Corticosteroids for Fetal 
Maturation on Perinatal Outcomes to assess the effectiveness of 
antenatal glucocorticoid therapy. The Consensus Panel concluded, in 
part, that giving corticosticoids to pregnant women at risk for preterm 
delivery reduces the risk of death, respiratory distress syndrome, and 
intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants.
    The 1994 panel noted that optimal benefit of antenatal 
corticosteroid therapy last 7 days. The panel also noted that the 
potential benefits and risk of repeated administration of antenatal 
corticosteroids 7 days after the initial course are unknown and called 
for additional research on this issue.
    The NIH is organizing this 1\1/2\ day conference to present 
research on repeat courses of antenatal corticosteroid therapy. After a 
day of presentations and audience discussion, an

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independent, non-federal consensus development panel will weigh the 
scientific evidence and write a draft statement that will be presented 
to the audience on the second day. The panel's statement will address 
these questions:
     Is the evidence on benefits and risks of repeat courses of 
antenatal corticosteroids sufficient to permit consensus 
recommendations?
     If so, what are the recommendations?
     If not, what additional information should be obtained?
    On the final day of the conference, the panel's draft statement 
will be read in public, at which time members of the public are invited 
to offer comments on the draft.
    The primary sponsors of this meeting are the National Institute of 
Child Health and Human Development and the NIH Office of Medical 
Applications of Research. Co-sponsors include the National Institute of 
Nursing Research and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
    This is the 112th Consensus Development Conference held by the NIH 
in the 23-year history of the Consensus Development Program. Advance 
information about the conference and conference registration materials 
may be obtained from the NIH Consensus Program Web site--http://consensus.nih.gov. Conference information can also be obtained from 
Prospect Associates of Silver Spring, Maryland by calling (301) 592-
3320 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Prospect Associate's 
address is 10720 Columbia Pike, Suite 500, Silver Spring, Maryland 
20901-4437.

    Dated: July 20, 2000.
Ruth L. Kirschstein,
Acting Director, NIH.
[FR Doc. 00-19148 Filed 7-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M