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Prophylactic Low-Dose Paracetamol Administration for Ductal Closure and Microstructural Brain Development in Preterm
Maria Sappler1, Marlene Hammerl2, Yasmin Pellkofer2
1Department of Pediatrics II, Neonatology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, Maria.Sappler@i-med.ac.at.
Neonatology
|February 17, 2022
Summary
Prophylactic paracetamol use in preterm infants did not impair brain development. Diffusion tensor imaging showed no adverse effects on microstructural maturation at term-equivalent age, suggesting safety for neurological outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Neuroscience
- Medical imaging
Background:
- Paracetamol is used to close the ductus arteriosus in preterm infants.
- The impact of prophylactic paracetamol on neurological development in preterm infants is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare microstructural brain development in very preterm infants with and without exposure to prophylactic paracetamol.
- To investigate the effects of early paracetamol administration on brain maturation using diffusion tensor imaging.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study comparing infants (<32 weeks gestational age) who received prophylactic paracetamol with a control group.
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to measure fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in 14 cerebral regions at term-equivalent age.
Main Results:
- The paracetamol group exhibited significantly higher FA values and lower ADC values in the splenium of the corpus callosum.
- Increased FA values were observed in the pons, left middle cerebellar peduncle, right occipital white matter, and right posterior limb of the internal capsule in the paracetamol group.
Conclusions:
- Early prophylactic paracetamol administration in preterm infants did not demonstrate impairment in microstructural brain maturation at term-equivalent age.
- Further long-term follow-up studies are needed to determine the clinical relevance of these imaging findings on neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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