Fenton vs. Intergrowth-21st: Postnatal Growth Assessment and Prediction of Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants

Although the survival rate of preterm infants has improved over the years, growth failure and associated impaired neurodevelopmental outcome remains a significant morbidity. Optimal nutrition plays an important role in achieving adequate postnatal growth. Accurate growth monitoring of preterm infants is critical in guiding nutritional protocols. Currently, there is no consensus regarding which growth assessment tool is suitable for monitoring postnatal growth of preterm infants to foster optimal neurodevelopmental outcomes while avoiding future consequences of aggressive nutritional approaches including increased risk for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. A retrospective single center cohort study was conducted to compare the performance of two growth-assessment tools, Fenton and Intergrowth-21st (IG-21st) in the classification of size at birth, identification of impaired growth and predicting neurodevelopment. A total of 340 infants with mean gestational age of 30 weeks were included. Proportion of agreement between the two tools for identification of small for gestational age (SGA) was high 0.94 (0.87, 0.1) however, agreement for classification of postnatal growth failure at discharge was moderate 0.6 (0.52, 0.69). Growth failure at discharge was less prevalent using IG-21st. There was significant association between weight-based growth failure and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 and 24 months of age.

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Impact of size at birth and postnatal growth on metabolic and neurocognitive outcomes in prematurely born school-age children

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86292-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yoo Jinie Kim ◽

Seung Han Shin ◽

Eun Sun Lee ◽

Young Hwa Jung ◽

Young Ah Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Growth Velocity ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

School Age ◽

Z Score ◽

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽

Neurocognitive Outcomes ◽

Size At Birth

AbstractPrematurity, size at birth, and postnatal growth are important factors that determine cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes later in life. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the associations between the size at birth and growth velocity after birth with cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants. Fifty-six preterm infants born at < 32 weeks of gestation or having a birth weight of < 1500 g were enrolled and categorized into small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) groups. Anthropometric and cardiometabolic parameters were assessed at school-age, and the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition (K-WISC-IV) was used for assessing the intellectual abilities. The growth velocity was calculated by changes in the weight z-score at each time period. Multivariate analysis was conducted to investigate the associations of growth velocity at different periods with cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Forty-two (75%) were classified as AGA and 25% as SGA. At school-age, despite the SGA children showing significantly lower body weight, lean mass index, and body mass index, there were no differences in the cardiometabolic parameters between SGA and AGA groups. After adjusting for gestational age, birth weight z-score, weight z-score change from birth to discharge and sex, change in weight z-score beyond 12 months were associated with a higher systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and insulin resistance. Full-scale intelligent quotient (β = 0.314, p = 0.036) and perceptional reasoning index (β = 0.456, p = 0.003) of K-WISC-IV were positively correlated with postnatal weight gain in the neonatal intensive care unit. Although cardiometabolic outcomes were comparable in preterm SGA and AGA infants, the growth velocity at different time periods resulted in different cardiometabolic and neurocognitive outcomes. Thus, ensuring an optimal growth velocity at early neonatal period could promote good neurocognitive outcomes, while adequate growth after 1 year could prevent adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in preterm infants.

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Predictors of Postnatal Growth Failure in Preterm Infants < 28 Weeks Gestational Age

Paediatrics & Child Health ◽

10.1093/pch/7.suppl_a.46ab ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 7 (suppl_A) ◽

pp. 46A-47A

Author(s):

P Shah ◽

K Wong ◽

S Merko ◽

R Bishara ◽

M Dunn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Growth Failure ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Postnatal Growth Failure

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Using Nature to Nurture: Breast Milk Analysis and Fortification to Improve Growth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13124307 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 4307

Author(s):

Katherine Marie Ottolini ◽

Elizabeth Vinson Schulz ◽

Catherine Limperopoulos ◽

Nickie Andescavage

Keyword(s):

Breast Milk ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Energy Content ◽

Growth Failure ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Milk Composition ◽

Preterm Neonates ◽

Milk Analysis ◽

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽

Fixed Amount

Premature infants are born prior to a critical window of rapid placental nutrient transfer and fetal growth—particularly brain development—that occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy. Subsequently, a large proportion of preterm neonates experience extrauterine growth failure and associated neurodevelopmental impairments. Human milk (maternal or donor breast milk) is the recommended source of enteral nutrition for preterm infants, but requires additional fortification of macronutrient, micronutrient, and energy content to meet the nutritional demands of the preterm infant in attempts at replicating in utero nutrient accretion and growth rates. Traditional standardized fortification practices that add a fixed amount of multicomponent fortifier based on assumed breast milk composition do not take into account the considerable variations in breast milk content or individual neonatal metabolism. Emerging methods of individualized fortification—including targeted and adjusted fortification—show promise in improving postnatal growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.

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Duration of mechanical ventilation and neurodevelopment in preterm infants

Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2018-315993 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 104 (6) ◽

pp. F631-F635 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Roos J S Vliegenthart ◽

Anton H van Kaam ◽

Cornelieke S H Aarnoudse-Moens ◽

Aleid G van Wassenaer ◽

Wes Onland

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Ventilation ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Invasive Mechanical Ventilation ◽

Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽

Respiratory Management ◽

Increased Risk

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) duration and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants in an era of restricted IMV.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingSingle neonatal intensive care unit in Amsterdam.PatientsAll ventilated patients with a gestational age between 24 and 30 weeks born between 2010 and 2015.Main outcome measuresNeurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 24 months corrected age (CA). Data on patient characteristics, respiratory management, neonatal morbidities, mortality and bronchopulmonary dysplasia were collected. The relationship between IMV duration and NDI was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis.ResultsDuring the study period, 368 admitted infants received IMV for a median duration of 2 days. Moderate and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia was diagnosed in 33% of the infant. Multivariate regression analysis with adjustment for gestational age, small for gestational age and socioeconomic status showed a significant association between every day of IMV and NDI at 24 months CA (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.08, 95% CI 1.004 to 1.16, p=0.04). This association only reached borderline significance when also adjusting for severe neonatal morbidity (aOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.17, p=0.05).ConclusionEven in an era of restricted IMV, every additional day of IMV in preterm infants is strongly associated with an increased risk of NDI at 24 months CA. Limiting IMV should be an important focus in the treatment of preterm infants.

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Early postnatal growth failure in preterm infants is not inevitable

Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2018-315082 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 104 (3) ◽

pp. F235-F241 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Edward Thomas Andrews ◽

James John Ashton ◽

Freya Pearson ◽

R Mark Beattie ◽

Mark John Johnson

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Growth Failure ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Longitudinal Change ◽

Longitudinal Growth ◽

Published Data ◽

Weight Decrease ◽

Postnatal Growth Failure

BackgroundPreviously published data have demonstrated that preterm infants experience a fall across marked centile lines for weight in early life with early poor head growth also reported. This study describes a single neonatal unit’s experience of longitudinal change in weight, head circumference (HC) and length in a cohort of preterm infants born <32 weeks’ gestation.MethodsData were collected from a single neonatal unit between July 2012 and June 2017. This period followed the introduction of improved nutritional guidelines. Patients were grouped according to their gestational age at birth. Growth lines were constructed for weight, HC and length in each gestational age group from the median measures and compared with reference centile lines.ResultsData were analysed from 396 patients consisting of 2808, 1991 and 2004 measures for weight, HC and length, respectively. Longitudinal growth plots did not show an initial absolute weight loss in any of the subgroups. Across all groups, the mean change in SD score between birth and 36 weeks was −0.27 (95% CI −0.39 to −0.15).ConclusionsThis description of longitudinal growth in a cohort of preterm infants demonstrates that early postnatal growth failure is not inevitable, with most infants growing along a trajectory close to their birth centile. There is no evidence of a 2 marked centile line weight decrease or weight loss. These data provide evidence to suggest that extrauterine weight gain tracking centile lines can be achieved.

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Single-course antenatal corticosteroids is related to faster growth in very-low-birth-weight infant

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth ◽

10.1186/s12884-020-03510-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jiajia Jing ◽

Yiheng Dai ◽

Yanqi Li ◽

Ping Zhou ◽

Xiaodong Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Very Low Birth Weight ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Weight Increase ◽

Antenatal Corticosteroids ◽

Lung Maturation ◽

Growth Outcomes

Abstract Background Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) treatment is critical to support survival and lung maturation in preterm infants, however, its effect on feeding and growth is unclear. Prior preterm delivery, it remains uncertain whether ACS treatment should be continued if possible (repeated course ACS), until a certain gestational age is reached. We hypothesized that the association of single-course ACS with feeding competence and postnatal growth outcomes might be different from that of repeated course ACS in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants. Methods A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants born at 23–37 weeks’ gestation in South China from 2011 to 2014. Data on growth, nutritional and clinical outcomes were collected. Repeated course ACS was defined in this study as two or more courses ACS (more than single-course). Infants were stratified by gestational age (GA), including GA < 28 weeks, 28 weeks ≤ GA < 32 weeks and 32 weeks ≤ GA < 37 weeks. Multiple linear regression and multilevel model were applied to analyze the association of ACS with feeding and growth outcomes. Results A total of 841 infants were recruited. The results, just in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants born at 28–32 weeks’ gestation, showed both single and repeated course of ACS regimens had shorter intubated ventilation time compared to non-ACS regimen. Single-course ACS promoted the earlier application of amino acid and enteral nutrition, and higher rate of weight increase (15.71; 95%CI 5.54–25.88) than non-ACS after adjusting for potential confounding factors. No associations of repeated course ACS with feeding, mean weight and weight increase rate were observed. Conclusions Single-course ACS was positively related to feeding and growth outcomes in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants born at 28–32 weeks’ gestation. However, the similar phenomenon was not observed in the repeated course of ACS regimen.

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Aortic growth arrest after preterm birth: a lasting structural change of the vascular tree

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s2040174411000274 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 218-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

U. Schubert ◽

M. Müller ◽

A.-K. Edstedt Bonamy ◽

H. Abdul-Khaliq ◽

M. Norman

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Carotid Artery ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Growth Failure ◽

Later Life ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Direct Result ◽

Arterial Tree ◽

Very Preterm Infants ◽

Very Preterm

Young people who are born very preterm exhibit a narrower arterial tree as compared with people born at term. We hypothesized that such arterial narrowing occurs as a direct result of premature birth. The aim of this study was to compare aortic and carotid artery growth in infants born preterm and at term. Observational and longitudinal cohort study of 50 infants (21 born very preterm, all appropriate for gestational age, 29 controls born at term) was conducted. Diameters of the upper abdominal aorta and common carotid artery were measured with ultrasonography at three months before term, at term and three months after term-equivalent age. At the first assessment, the aortic end-diastolic diameter (aEDD) was slightly larger in very preterm infants as compared with fetal dimensions. Fetal aortic EDD increased by 2.6 mm during the third trimester, whereas very preterm infants exhibited 0.9 mm increase in aEDD during the same developmental period (P < 0.001 for group difference). During the following 3-month period, aortic growth continued unchanged (+0.9 mm) in very preterm infants, whereas postnatal growth in term controls slowed down to +1.3 mm (P < 0.001 v. fetal aortic growth). At the final examination, aEDD was 22% and carotid artery EDD was 14% narrower in infants born preterm compared with controls, also after adjusting for current weight (P < 0.01). Aortic and carotid artery growth is impaired after very preterm birth, resulting in arterial narrowing. Arterial growth failure may be a generalized vascular phenomenon after preterm birth, with implications for cardiovascular morbidity in later life.

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Comparison of neonatal outcomes of small for gestational age and appropriate for gestational age preterm infants born at 28–36 weeks of gestation: a multicentre study in Ethiopia

BMJ Paediatrics Open ◽

10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000740 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e000740

Author(s):

Netsanet Workneh Gidi ◽

Robert L Goldenberg ◽

Assaye K Nigussie ◽

Elizabeth McClure ◽

Amha Mekasha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Small For Gestational Age ◽

Late Onset ◽

Early Recognition ◽

Neonatal Outcomes ◽

P Value ◽

Prolonged Hospitalisation ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Appropriate For Gestational Age

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess morbidity and mortality pattern of small for gestational age (SGA) preterm infants in comparison to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) preterm infants of similar gestational age.MethodWe compared neonatal outcomes of 1336, 1:1 matched, singleton SGA and AGA preterm infants based on their gestational age using data from the study ‘Causes of Illness and Death of Preterm Infants in Ethiopia (SIP)’. Data were analysed using SPSS V.23. ORs and 95% CIs and χ2 tests were done, p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultThe majority of the infants (1194, 89%) were moderate to late preterm (32–36 weeks of gestation), 763 (57%) were females. Male preterm infants had higher risk of being SGA than female infants (p<0.001). SGA infants had increased risk of hypoglycaemic (OR and 95% CI 1.6 (1.2 to 2.0), necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) 2.3 (1.2 to 4.1), polycythaemia 3.0 (1.6 to 5.4), late-onset neonatal sepsis (LOS) 3.6 (1.1 to 10.9)) and prolonged hospitalisation 2.9 (2.0 to 4.2). The rates of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), apnoea and mortality were similar in the SGA and AGA groups.ConclusionNeonatal complications such as hypoglycaemic, NEC, LOS, polycythaemia and prolonged hospitalisation are more common in SGA infants, while rates of RDS and mortality are similar in SGA and AGA groups. Early recognition of SGA status, high index of suspicion and screening for complications associated and timely intervention to prevent complications need due consideration.

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Disrupted Maturation of the Microbiota and Metabolome among Extremely Preterm Infants with Postnatal Growth Failure

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-44547-y ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Noelle E. Younge ◽

Christopher B. Newgard ◽

C. Michael Cotten ◽

Ronald N. Goldberg ◽

Michael J. Muehlbauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Infants ◽

Growth Failure ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Extremely Preterm ◽

Extremely Preterm Infants ◽

Postnatal Growth Failure

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A Closer Look at a Small Brain: Transnuchal Ultrasound Facilitates High-Resolution Imaging of the Cerebellum in Preterm Infants

Ultraschall in der Medizin - European Journal of Ultrasound ◽

10.1055/a-1072-5207 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Tobias Muehlbacher ◽

Rebecca Nathalie Schaefer ◽

Claudia Buss ◽

Christoph Bührer ◽

Thomas Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Preterm Infants ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Neurodevelopmental Outcome ◽

Postnatal Growth ◽

Postnatal Life ◽

Sonographic Examination ◽

Very Preterm Infants ◽

Biparietal Diameter ◽

Linear Probe ◽

Calculated Ratio

Abstract Purpose Very preterm infants are at risk for cerebellar injury and impaired cerebellar growth with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Ultrasound through the mastoid fontanel (MF) with a curved-array or sector probe is the most established method for the sonographic examination of the cerebellum. The goal of our study was to examine the validity of transnuchal ultrasound through the foramen occipitale magnum (FOM) with a linear probe for monitoring postnatal cerebellar growth. Methods Retrospective analysis of routine ultrasound scans through FOM and MF in 105 preterm infants born between 23 and 36 weeks of gestation with a birthweight of less than 1500 g. Results Diameters of the cerebellar hemispheres obtained through the two acoustic windows mastoid fontanel and foramen occipitale magnum showed high correlations (r’s = 0.981 and 0.983, p’s < 0.001). Corrected gestational age was significantly associated with transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD) on the first scan (r = 0.908, p < 0.001) as well as postnatal cerebellar growth (r = 0.920, p < 0.001). Postnatal growth was slightly decreased resulting in cerebellar growth restriction on serial scans. Both associations exceeded the calculated ratio of TCD to head circumference (r = 0.657, p < 0.001) and TCD to biparietal diameter with gestational age (r = 0.705, p < 0.001). Conclusion Transnuchal ultrasound is feasible for examination of the preterm cerebellum and improves image quality compared to scans through the MF with higher resolution at a very short distance. Monitoring cerebellar growth during early postnatal life via transnuchal ultrasound can help to identify children at high risk for neurodevelopmental impairment.

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