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Neurodevelopment until the adjusted age of 2 years in extremely low birth weight infants after early intervention--a
T Salokorpi1, N Sajaniemi, I Rajantie
1Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Occupational therapy using sensory integration (SI) and neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) showed no significant impact on neurological development in infants under 1000 grams. A slight advantage in social development was observed at 12 months for the intervention group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Occupational Therapy
Background:
- Infants with very low birth weights (<1000 grams) are at high risk for developmental challenges.
- Early intervention is crucial for optimizing neurological and developmental outcomes in these vulnerable infants.
- Sensory Integration (SI) and Neurodevelopmental Therapy (NDT) are common therapeutic approaches for high-risk infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of a structured occupational therapy program on the neurological development of infants with birth weights less than 1000 grams.
- To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes between infants receiving SI and NDT-based occupational therapy and a control group.
- To assess the impact of early occupational therapy on various developmental domains, including social development.
Main Methods:
- A prospective case-control study involving 104 infants with birth weights <1000 grams.
- Infants were grouped into matched pairs based on developmental risks at 3 months corrected age.
- Intervention group received weekly 60-minute occupational therapy sessions (SI and NDT) from 6 to 12 months corrected age.
- Neurodevelopmental assessments were conducted at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months corrected age.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in overall neurodevelopment were found between the intervention and control groups.
- The intervention group showed a statistically significant advantage in social development at 12 months corrected age.
- The study did not find a relevant effect of the specified occupational therapy regimen on the neurological development of at-risk infants.
Conclusions:
- The utilized occupational therapy intervention (SI and NDT) did not yield significant improvements in the overall neurological development of infants with very low birth weights.
- While a positive trend in social development was noted at 12 months, it did not translate to broader neurological gains.
- Further research may be needed to explore optimal timing, intensity, or specific components of occupational therapy for this population.
Abstract:
A total of 104 infants with birth weights of less than 1000 grams were enrolled in this prospective case-control study in order to examine the effect of occupational therapy based on sensory integration (SI) and neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) on neurological development. The children were grouped as matched pairs on the basis of a set of developmental risks assessed at the age of 3 months. The intervention children had a weekly session of 60 minutes of occupational therapy from the corrected age of 6 months up to 12 months. All the children were examined at the corrected age of 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. The neurodevelopment of the cases and the controls did not differ essentially and the only significant difference was found in the social development of the children at the age of 12 months to the advantage of the intervention group. It is concluded that this amount of occupational therapy in at-risk children does not have a relevant effect on neurological development.