Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Preterm Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2022; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês
10.2139/ssrn.4261619
ISSN1556-5068
AutoresKristine Tolentino-Plata, Roy J. Heyne, Azucena Verdín, L. Steven Brown,
Tópico(s)Infant Development and Preterm Care
ResumoObjective: To examine differences across time in cognitive, communication, and motor developmental outcomes of very preterm children (<33 weeks gestational age) at 18 to 30 months corrected age, who were tested in a single center either prior (2018-2019) to or during (2020-2021) the COVID-19[1] pandemic.Study Design: A retrospective comparison of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development—Third Edition composite neurodevelopmental scores of preterm children ages 18 to 30 months corrected age (n = 290) across a four-year period encompassing two years prior to and two years during the pandemic.Results: Statistically significant differences in a generalized linear model were found across four years in cognitive (p=.003), communication (p=.02) and motor (p = .01) among all preterm children; and in the Hispanic only subset of the group in cognitive (p=.01) and motor (p=.04) composite scores.Conclusions: The neurodevelopmental outcomes of very preterm children declined during the pandemic. Various health and socioeconomic risk factors associated with prematurity in combination with those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may have adversely impacted the developmental outcomes of preterm children. Compared to the overall preterm population of the study, the Hispanic only population was at greater risk for decline in cognitive and motor scores during the pandemic. A more cohesive and streamlined developmental follow-up protocol that can be delivered using alternative means such as virtual appointments or telemedicine may be beneficial to all individuals affected by prematurity and the pandemic.[1] Coronavirus disease 2019
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