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Published on: September 1, 2018
Head Lag in Infancy: What Is It Telling Us?
Roberta G Pineda1, Lauren C Reynolds2, Kristin Seefeldt3
1Roberta G. Pineda, PhD, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor, Program in Occupational Therapy and Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; pineda_r@kids.wustl.edu.
Objective:
To investigate changes in head lag across postmenstrual age and define associations between head lag and (1) perinatal exposures and (2) neurodevelopment.
Method:
Sixty-four infants born ≤ 30 wk gestation had head lag assessed before and at term-equivalent age. Neurobehavior was assessed at term age. At 2 yr, neurodevelopmental testing was conducted.
Results:
Head lag decreased with advancing postmenstrual age, but 58% (n = 37) of infants continued to demonstrate head lag at term. Head lag was associated with longer stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (p = .009), inotrope use (p = .04), sepsis (p = .02), longer endotracheal intubation (p = .01), and cerebral injury (p = .006). Head lag was related to alterations in early neurobehavior (p < .03), but no associations with neurodevelopment were found at 2 yr.
Conclusion:
Head lag was related to medical factors and early neurobehavior, but it may not be a good predictor of outcome when used in isolation.
