Late-onset neonatal sepsis was not associated with impaired neurodevelopmental outcome: Results from the EPICE/SHIPS-PT cohort

• Author(s): Dos Santos Engel, J ; Mota de Almeida, MA ; Costa, R ; Freitas, AI
• Date: 2024
• Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/157572
• Origin: Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

"Aim: To assess the impact of late-onset neonatal sepsis (LONS) on the cognitive and motor development of five-year-old children who were born very preterm (VPT). Methods: This study included 327 VPT children from the Portuguese EPICE/SHIPS cohort who attended the neurodevelopment assessment. Neuropsychological tests such as WPPSI-R, MABC-2 and NEPSY-II (language domain) were used to assess the children's cognitive and motor development. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the socio-demographic, clinical and neurodevelopment outcomes of VPT children with and without LONS. Regression analysis adjusted for confounding variables was performed when applicable. Results: Underperformance in intelligence quotient and language development was similar regardless of a neonatal diagnosis of LONS. In contrast, VPT children with LONS had a higher risk of movement difficulties than those without LONS (p = 0.02). However, the association was lost after adjusting for confounders (β = -0.25; p > 0.05). Conclusion: LONS per se was not associated with the risk for poor long-term cognitive or motor outcomes in VPT children. Social-demographic and clinical characteristics assessed during the neonatal period and at the time of neurodevelopment assessment were similar between groups suggesting that social-related factors such as parents' educational level could have mitigated the LONS impact."