Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination in infants born at term: Predicting outcomes other than cerebral palsy

We explored the ability of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) to identify cognitive performance delay at 2 years in a large cohort of infants born at term.

We conducted a retrospective study of infants born at term at risk of neurodevelopmental impairments assessed using the HINE between 3 and 12 months post-term age and compared them with a cohort of typically developing infants born at term. All infants performed a neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age using the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition; the presence of cerebral palsy (CP) was also reported. The infants were classified as being cognitively normal/mildly delayed or significantly delayed (MDI < 70). The predictive validity of HINE scores for significantly delayed cognitive performance, in infants with and without CP, was calculated using specific cut-off scores according to age at assessment.

A total of 446 at-risk and 235 typically developing infants (345 males, 336 females; mean [SD] gestational age 38.7 weeks [1.4], range 37-43 weeks) were included. Of the at-risk infants, 408 did not have CP at 2 years; 243 had a normal/mild delayed MDI and 165 had an MDI less than 70. Of the at-risk infants, 38 developed CP. HINE scores showed a good sensitivity and specificity, mainly after 3 months, for identifying significantly delayed cognitive performance in infants without CP. In those with CP, the score was associated with their cognitive performance. The comparison group had the highest HINE scores.

The HINE provides evidence about the risk of delayed cognitive performance at age 2 years in infants born at term with and without CP.