COVID-19 pandemic hindered access to neonatal seizure developmental services

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered delivery of developmental services among children with acute provoked neonatal seizures, according to results of a prospective cohort study published in Pediatric Neurology.

“Children with a history of neonatal seizures are at high risk for difficulties with motor and cognitive functioning at school age,” Colleen Peyton, DPT, of the department of physical therapy and human movement science at Northwestern University, and colleagues wrote. “These children often receive developmental services (eg speech, occupational and/or physical therapy) through public early intervention programs, the school system and privately. The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to school shutdowns and limited in-person developmental services, disrupting therapeutic and educational delivery models across the United States in 2020 and 2021.”

However, Peyton and colleagues noted data are sparse regarding the effect of restrictions on in-person services among children with a history of neonatal seizures.

In the current study, researchers aimed to examine the impact of service interruption on 72 children born between October 2014 and December 2017 who were enrolled in the Neonatal Seizure Registry, a collaboration between nine pediatric centers in the U.S. Participants had acute provoked seizures with onset at 44 weeks or less gestation, with evaluation at ages 3 to 6 years. Participants’ parents completed a survey regarding their child’s access to developmental services between June 2020 and April 2021.

Participants who received services were more likely to be male, born preterm and have seizure etiology of infection or ischemic stroke. Among these children, 64 (89%) had a disruption in developmental services because of the pandemic. Most (73%) families reported that in-person services were no longer available.

“The majority of children using developmental services experienced disruption in service delivery, including absence of in-person services, service interruption and delays in access,” Peyton and colleagues wrote. “Longitudinal studies in this population are needed to better understand the long-term effects of neonatal seizures on child development, as well as the effects incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As children are able to resume developmental services, intensive targeted and functional developmental therapies may be needed to mitigate the effects of service disruption in children with neonatal seizures.”