The Effect of Dexamethasone and Ambroxol on Weights of Rabbit Fetal Tissues and Organs and of the Body

Objective:To understand the prenatal use of dexamethasone and ambroxol on lung surfactant synthesis of the fetal rabbit and its weight and the weight of organs affected.Methods:Thirty randomly selected female rabbits were divided into dexamethasone group,ambroxol group and control group,10 rabbits in each.After the first 24 d of pregnancy in rabbits the first 2 groups were given dexamethasone and ambroxol hydrochloride respectively through ears intravenously while the control group given a dose of physiologic saline for 3 days.On the 27th d of pregnancy,the fetal rabbits were drawn out and the lung phospholipids level of the fetal rabbits was examined and the fetals and their lungs,livers,intestines and placentas were weighed.Results:The lung phospholipid contents of the dexamethasone,ambroxol and control groups were respectively(0.70±0.45) mmol/g,(0.69±0.41) mmol/g,(0.35±0.13) mmol/g.The levels of fetal lung phospholipid of the dexamethasone group and the ambroxol group compared with the control group had significant difference(P0.05).The total weight of the fetals in the dexamethasone treatment group(128.05±34.34) g was lower than that of the ambroxol group(154.90±61.74) g and the control group(159.55±50.03) g and there was significant difference(P0.05);the average weight of the fetals in dexamethasone treatment group(19.10±5.74) g was lower than that of the ambroxol group(23.47±6.26) g and of the control group(23.81±6.02) g.There was a significant difference(P0.05);at the same time,the total weight and the average weight of the placentas of the dexamethasone treatment group were lighter than those of the ambroxol group and the control group.There was no significant difference between the three groups in the weights of the fetal livers,fetal intestines and lungs(P0.05).Conclusions:The antenatal ambroxol can promote fetal rabbit pulmonary surfactant synthesis,almost the same as the effect of dexamethasone;dexamethasone may reduce fetal weight and placental weight but ambroxol has no obvious effect on fetal weight.