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Perinatal infections impaired neurodevelopment of at-risk infants
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Very preterm and very low birth weight children’s mental and motor development are negatively affected by perinatal infections, according to recent study results published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“Very preterm delivery (≤32 weeks of gestation) and very low birth weight (≤1,500 g) are strongly associated with intrauterine infections, and the majority of very preterm/[very low birth weight] infants develop at least one neonatal infection,” researchers wrote. “There is increasing evidence that infections contribute to brain damage, which leads to adverse neurodevelopmental outcome in this at-risk population.”
The meta-analysis included 18 studies with data on 13,755 very preterm/very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.
Researchers found that very preterm and VLBW with perinatal infections had poorer mental (P<.001) and motor (P<.001) compared with those without infections.
They also found that mental development was most affected by necrotizing enterocolitis (P<.001) and meningitis (P<.001). Motor development also was most affected by necrotizing enterocolitis (P<.001). However, chorioamnionitis did not affect mental (P=.37) or motor (P=.08) development.
“The results of this meta-analysis highlight the additional deteriorating effect of infections on neurodevelopment impairments in very preterm/VLBW infants and stress the clinical importance of the prevention of perinatal infections,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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