Painful procedures can affect post-natal growth and neurodevelopment in preterm infants

This Italian study evaluated whether painful procedures during the first four weeks of life were related to subsequent weight gain, head circumference (HC) and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants, METHODS: We evaluated the number of invasive procedures that infants born at less than 32 weeks of gestational age (GA) underwent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Careggi Hospital, Florence, from January to December 2015. Weight and HC were recorded at birth, 36 weeks of PMA and six and 12 months of CA. Neurological outcomes were assessed at six and 12 months of CA using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - Third Edition.

We studied 83 preterm infants with a GA of 28 ± 2 weeks and birth weight of 1098 ± 340 g. A higher number of invasive painful procedures were related to a lower HC standard deviation score at 36 weeks of PMA and six and 12 months of CA and with lower cognitive scores at six months. At 12 months, the relationship only remained significant for infants born at less than 28 weeks (p < 0.001).

Invasive painful procedures affected regular HC growth and short-term cognitive scores in preterm infants in the first year of life.