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. 2023 May 11:11:1180068.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1180068. eCollection 2023.

In-hospital growth and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants

Alessandra Consales  1 , Matteo Porro  2 , Silvana Gangi  3 , Nicola Pesenti  3   4 , Laura Gardon  3 , Chiara Squarza  3 , Andrea Frigerio  3 , Irene Lezzi  1 , Giulia Vizzari  3 , Daniela Morniroli  1 , Marta Macchi  3 , Camilla Fontana  3 , Monica Fumagalli  1   3 , Odoardo Picciolini  2 , Fabio Mosca  1   3 , Maria Lorella Giannì  1   3
Affiliations

In-hospital growth and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants

Alessandra Consales et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background and objectives: Very low birth weight infants (VLBW) are at risk for adverse growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the association between growth during Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in a cohort of preterm VLBW newborns.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal observational study in the Follow-up Service of our Clinic from January 2014 to April 2017. All preterm VLBW infants born at our hospital and enrolled in our follow-up program were considered eligible for the study. The neurodevelopmental assessment was performed using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales at 12 and 24 months corrected age.

Results: Study population included 172 subjects (47.1% males) with a mean gestational age of 29 weeks and a mean birth weight of 1,117 g. A unitarian Δz-score increase in head circumference from birth to discharge was associated with a 1.6-point increase in General Quotient at 24 months corrected age. An association with subscales C and D was also found. Likewise, an increase in length Δz-score was associated with better 24-month subscale C scores although not reaching statistical significance. No relationship with the outcome at 24 months was found for weight gain.

Conclusions: Growth during NICU stay appears to be related to a more favorable neurodevelopmental outcome at 24 months corrected age, especially in the hearing and language domain (subscale C). The longitudinal evaluation of auxological parameters during hospitalization can contribute to the identification of subjects at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the first years of life.

Keywords: VLBW; griffiths mental development scales; growth; head circumference; length; neurodevelopment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patients’ flow through the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comorbidities of the study population. BPD, bronchopulmonary dysplasia; NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis; ROP, retinopathy of prematurity; SBL, severe brain lesions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of GMDS-ER scores of the study population. A: GMDS-ER scores at 12 months CA; B: GMDS-ER scores at 24 months CA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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