Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Impairment among Very Preterm Infants with Sepsis, Meningitis, and Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Introduction: Sepsis and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are associated with poorer long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in very preterm infants (VPIs), but less is known about the long-term effect of meningitis and the combined impact of both meningitis and IVH. Our objective was to examine the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of VPIs with late onset sepsis and meningitis, with and without IVH, in Canada. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all infants <29 weeks GA who were admitted to 26 tertiary-level neonatal intensive care units in the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) and Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network (CNFUN) databases, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2016. Results: Of the 6,322 infants in the cohort, 4,575 had no infection, 1,590 had late onset culture-positive bloodstream infection (CPBSI) only, and 157 had late onset meningitis. There was a significant (p < 0.05) trend of increasing rates of significant neurodevelopmental delay (sNDI) when comparing infants with no infection (sNDI rate 15.0%), late onset CPBSI (sNDI rate 22.9%), and late onset meningitis (sNDI rate 32.0%), even after adjustment for infant characteristics. Similar trends were observed for neurodevelopmental impairment, cerebral palsy, and individual Bayley-III scores <85 for cognitive, language, and motor development. There was an additive effect of IVH in all infant categories, but there was no multiplicative effect between IVH and late onset meningitis. Conclusion: There was an increasing trend of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes when infants with no infection, late onset CPBSI and late onset meningitis are compared. IVH had an additive effect.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Impairment among Very Preterm Infants with Sepsis, Meningitis, and Intraventricular Hemorrhage ; volume:121 ; number:1 ; year:2024 ; pages:65-73 ; extent:9 ; Neonatology ; 121, Heft 1 (2024), 65-73 (gesamt 9)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Zhou, Qi ; Ong, Melissa ; Ye, Xiang Y. ; Ting, Joseph Y. ; Shah, Prakesh S. ; Synnes, Anne ; Luu, Thuy Mai ; Lee, Shoo

Further information

• DOI: 10.1159/000534178
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2024021423500150657602
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:22 AM CEST