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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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Do NICU developmental care improve cognitive and motor outcomes for preterm infants? A systematic review and

Farin Soleimani1, Nadia Azari1, Hesam Ghiasvand1,2

  • 1Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

BMC Pediatrics
|February 15, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Developmental care in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) significantly improves mental and motor development in preterm infants by 12 months. Further research is needed to confirm long-term benefits due to study variations.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Development
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Evidence-Based Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Preterm infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) face developmental challenges.
  • Developmental care strategies aim to optimize the NICU environment for infant well-being.
  • Assessing the impact of developmental care on neurodevelopmental outcomes is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of developmental care in the NICU on preterm infants' mental and motor development.
  • To evaluate developmental outcomes at 12 and 24 months of corrected age.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of randomized controlled trials sourced from major databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library) up to October 2017.
  • Meta-analysis using a random effects model to calculate Standardized Mean Differences (SMD) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI).
  • Bayley Scale of Infant Development (BSID) was used to assess mental and motor development.

Main Results:

  • Developmental care in the NICU significantly improved the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) at 12 months.
  • A positive trend was observed for PDI at 24 months, though not statistically significant.
  • No significant improvement in MDI was detected at 24 months.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental care in the NICU demonstrates significant benefits for the mental and motor development of preterm infants, particularly by 12 months of age.
  • Clinical heterogeneity among studies necessitates further research to solidify long-term developmental effects.
  • Continued investigation into optimized developmental care protocols is warranted.
Abstract

Keywords:
Bayley scales of infant developmentDevelopmental careInterventionsMeta-analysisNICUPreterm infantsSystematic review

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