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Neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants with late-onset infection: not only in extremely preterm infants

European Journal of Pediatrics volume 173, pages 1017–1023 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Late-onset infection is known to increase the risk of neurodevelopmental impairment in infants born extremely preterm. However, little data is available regarding infants born moderately preterm. The aim of this study was to determine whether late-onset infection in moderately preterm infants (<35 weeks of gestation) was associated with a non-optimal neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age. We analyzed a regional, population-based cohort of infants (LIFT cohort) between January 2003 and December 2009, and we used a propensity score method to reduce bias. Among the 4,618 preterm infants assessed at 2 years, 618 had acquired late-onset infection (13.4 %), and 764 had a non-optimal outcome (16.5 %). The rate of non-optimal outcomes was significantly higher in preterm infants with late-onset infection, irrespective of subgroups of gestational age and birth weight Z-score. After adjusting for the propensity score, the relationship between late-onset infection and non-optimal neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years among infants born before 35 weeks of gestation remained significant (aOR = 1.3; 95 % CI 1.01–1.7; p = .04). Conclusion: Late-onset infection is associated with poor neurological outcome at 2 years of age among infants born moderately preterm before and after adjustment for the propensity score.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Sophie Minguet (Koonec, Scientific and Medical Translation, Barcelona, Spain) for editing the paper.

Conflict of interest

The authors have neither conflict of interest nor any financial relationship to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatal Medicine, Hôpital Mère Enfant, CHU of Nantes, Boulevard Jean Monnet, 44093, Nantes, France

    Alexis Chenouard, Jean-Christophe Rozé & Cyril Flamant

  2. Department of Neonatal Medicine, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France

    Géraldine Gascoin

  3. “Loire Infant Follow-up Team” (LIFT) Network, Pays de Loire, France

    Géraldine Gascoin, Yannis Montcho, Jean-Christophe Rozé & Cyril Flamant

  4. Emergency Medicine, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France

    Christèle Gras-Le Guen

  5. National Institute of Health and Medical Research CIC004, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France

    Christèle Gras-Le Guen, Jean-Christophe Rozé & Cyril Flamant

  6. Department of Neonatal Medicine, Le Mans Hospital, Le Mans, France

    Yannis Montcho

Authors
  1. Alexis Chenouard
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  2. Géraldine Gascoin
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  3. Christèle Gras-Le Guen
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  4. Yannis Montcho
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  5. Jean-Christophe Rozé
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  6. Cyril Flamant
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Christophe Rozé.

Additional information

Communicated by Beat Steinmann

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Chenouard, A., Gascoin, G., Gras-Le Guen, C. et al. Neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants with late-onset infection: not only in extremely preterm infants. Eur J Pediatr 173, 1017–1023 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2284-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2284-8

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