In utero thyroxine therapy for the induction of fetal lung maturity: Long term effects

Intra-amniotic thyroxine has been used for the induction of fetal lung maturity. The long term effects of this therapy were evaluated in a group of eighteen preschool children, 5 to 6 years of age, whose mothers received intra-amniotic thyroxine during the last trimester of their gestation. Eleven children born during the same time period were selected as controls. The children were all clinically well with no evidence of growth or endocrine abnormalities. Neurological assessment was normaland psychomotor development was in the normal range for our population and did not differ from the control subjects. Intra-amniotic thyroxine administered during the last trimester of gestation did not appear to have any significant long term detrimental effects in the treated patients.