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Five-year follow-up of prematurely born children with postnatally developing caudothalamic cysts
A Lind1, H Lapinleimu, M Korkman
1Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. annika.lind@abo.fi
Insights
Very low birth weight children developing caudothalamic cysts show similar cognitive and neuropsychological impairments as those without cysts. Long-term outcomes for these developmental conditions are comparable.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal neurology
- Developmental pediatrics
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Postnatal development of caudothalamic cysts can occur in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.
- The long-term neurodevelopmental impact of these cysts is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term developmental outcomes in VLBW children with postnatally developing caudothalamic cysts.
- To compare their outcomes with VLBW children who have normal brain structures.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 5 VLBW infants with caudothalamic cysts.
- Neuroimaging (cranial ultrasound, MRI) at birth and 5 years.
- Neurodevelopmental assessments (Bayley Scales, Hammersmith, Wechsler, NEPSY II) at 2 and 5 years.
- Comparison group: 23 VLBW children with normal brain structure.
Main Results:
- All children, both with and without caudothalamic cysts, exhibited cognitive levels below normal or neuropsychological impairments.
- No significant difference in the severity or type of impairments was noted between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Postnatally developing caudothalamic cysts in VLBW children do not appear to worsen long-term cognitive and neuropsychological outcomes.
- VLBW infants face significant neurodevelopmental challenges, irrespective of the presence of caudothalamic cysts.
Aim:
To assess the long-term developmental outcome of very low birth weight children with postnatally developing caudothalamic cysts.
Methods:
Five very low birth weight children with postnatal caudothalamic cysts were examined using cranial ultrasound and brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging as neonates, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition, and the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination at 2 years of corrected age, and with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and the standardization version of NEPSY II at 5 years of age. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain was repeated at 5 years of age. The developmental outcome at 5 years of age was compared with that of 23 very low birth weight children with normal brain structure.
Results:
A cognitive level below normal and/or neuropsychological impairments was seen in all the children with caudothalamic cysts as well as in those with normal brain structure.
Conclusion:
Very low birth weight children with postnatally developing caudothalamic cysts had cognitive and neuropsychological impairments similar to very low birth weight children without such cysts.
