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Updated: May 19, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
[Perinatal encephalopathy sequelae identified by a neurobehavioral scale in one year old infants]
Raquel Chávez-Torres1, Carmen Sánchez-Pérez, Haroldo Elorza Pérez-Tejada
1Hospital Pediátrico Peralvillo, Secretaría de Salud del Distrito Federal, Mexico. rpchavez@prodigy.net.mx
Insights
The Vanedela neurobehavioral scale effectively identifies neurodevelopmental sequelae in infants with perinatal encephalopathy by one year of age. Functional encephalopathy showed the best outcomes, while combined encephalopathy had the poorest.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal neurology
- Developmental pediatrics
- Neuroscience
Context:
- Perinatal encephalopathy affects newborns, potentially leading to long-term neurodevelopmental issues.
- Early identification of neurodevelopmental sequelae is crucial for timely intervention.
- The Vanedela scale is a novel tool for assessing neurobehavioral outcomes in infants.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the efficacy of the Vanedela neurobehavioral scale in identifying neurodevelopmental sequelae in infants with perinatal encephalopathy at one year of age.
- To differentiate neurodevelopmental outcomes based on the type of encephalopathy (functional, structural, combined).
Summary:
- A cohort of 75 newborns with perinatal encephalopathy was assessed using the Vanedela scale at 1, 4, 8, and 12 months.
- Infants with functional encephalopathy demonstrated better neurobehavioral scores and growth compared to structural and combined types.
- At one year, infants with neurodevelopmental sequelae showed lower scores and retarded growth, whereas those with functional encephalopathy exhibited no sequelae.
Impact:
- The Vanedela scale is a reliable and time-efficient tool for assessing neurodevelopmental sequelae in infants with perinatal encephalopathy.
- Findings support the use of the Vanedela scale in clinical settings for routine neurobehavioral follow-up.
- Early identification facilitates targeted interventions, potentially improving long-term outcomes for affected infants.
Objective:
to identify neurodevelopmental sequelae in one year old infants with perinatal encephalopathy utilizing the neurobehavioral scale named Vanedela.
Methods:
a cohort of 75 newborns with perinatal encephalopathy was assessed with a neurobehavioral follow-up scale at age of 1, 4, 8 and 12 months. A distinction was made between functional, structural and combined encephalopathy. Two groups of neurodevelopmental outcome at one year were identified: with or without sequelae. Nonparametric statistics was used.
Results:
infants with functional encephalopathy had the best scores, followed by those with structural encephalopathy, while infants with a combined encephalopathy had the lowest scores. At one year of age, the group with neurobehavioral sequelae exhibited the lowest scores and retarded growth. At the same age, the group with functional encephalopathy exhibited no neurobehavioral sequelae, and reached better scores and growth.
Conclusions:
the neurobehavioral follow-up scale is able to identify the neurodevelopmental sequelae at the age of one year in infants with perinatal encephalopathy. The application of Vanedela in the clinical field requires of little time, its results are trustworthy and very useful for the neurobehavioral follow-up assessment.
