468 - Relationship between EEG and early neuromotor outcomes in preterm infants

Poster Number: 468
Publication Number: 468.342

Audrey Dufour, Universite de Montreal Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Marie-Michèle Gagnon, CHU Sainte-Justine, Laval, PQ, Canada; Bohdana Marandyuk, The CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Zamzam Mahdi, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Gabriel Côté-Corriveau, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Anne Monique Nuyt, CHU Ste Justine Université de Montréal, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Mathieu Dehaes, Universite de Montreal Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Marie-Noëlle Simard, Université de Montréal, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Elana Pinchefsky, CHU Sainte-Justine, montreal, PQ, Canada

Background:
In Canada, 7% of children are born preterm between 29 and 36 weeks gestational age (GA). Amongst them, 25 to 45% will present with developmental delays by 2 years corrected age (CA). As resources for developmental follow-up are limited, new strategies need to be implemented in order to identify which preterm children are at the greatest risk of developmental delay in order to prioritize early rehabilitation services.

Objective: To determine the electroencephalograms (EEG) features at term equivalent age (TEA) that correlate with neuromotor development at 3.5 and 8 months corrected age (CA) in children born preterm between 29 and 36 weeks GA.

Design/Methods: Ongoing prospective cohort study of preterm infants born between 29 and 36 weeks gestational age with routine 1 hour EEG performed at TEA. Quantitative EEG analysis using BrainVision software was used to calculate an EEG discontinuity index (the proportion of brain activity with an amplitude < 15 mcV or 25 mcV) and spectral power densities (global average and for each brain region). Visual analysis included measurement of the duration of the interburst intervals, and the mean and maximum values were calculated for each infant. At 3.5 and 8 months CA, neuromotor development was evaluated using the Neurosensory and Motor Developmental Assessment (NSMDA) and Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). Abnormal neuromotor development was defined as AIMS score below the 10th percentile and/or NSMDA over 12. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between EEG features and neuromotor abnormalities, adjusting for birthweight and gestational age at EEG.

Results: 79 children (median gestational age 33.6 weeks, IQR 32-34.7) were included (48 males). EEGs were performed at median 36.9 weeks CA (range 36–41 weeks). Thirty-four (41.5%) had neuromotor delays at 3.5 months CA and 20 (25%) at 8 months CA. No significant associations were identified between any of the EEG features evaluated at TEA with neuromotor delay at 3.5 or 8 months CA.Conclusion(s): Although no significant correlations were found between the EEG features assessed at TEA and the presence of motor delay at 3.5 and 8 months CA in preterm children born between 29 and 36 weeks GA, further longitudinal neurodevelopmental assessments, including cognitive and language domains, are needed to better evaluate the prognostic potential of TEA EEG. Comprehensive neurodevelopmental assessments are currently being evaluated at 2 years CA in this cohort.
CVDufourAudrey_CV.pdf