Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Functional measures on PEDI are associated with BSID-3 scales at 2 years, following neonatal surgery
Karen VanHaltren1, Ruth K Armstrong2, Julia K Gunn-Charlton3
1Department of Neonatal Medicine, The Royal Children's Hospital, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, Mercy Hospital for Women, 163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.
Insights
The Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) shows strong correlation with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-3) for assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants post-surgery. PEDI offers a reliable, accessible screening alternative for early intervention services.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Neonates undergoing surgery for major congenital anomalies face high risks of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Early identification of neurodevelopmental delay is crucial for timely intervention and maximizing functional abilities in these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of Bayley's Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-3) and the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) as early screening tools for neurodevelopmental disability.
- To identify pre, peri, and post-operative risk factors associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study.
- Inclusion of neonates who underwent surgical intervention between 2012 and 2018.
- Neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age using BSID-3 and PEDI.
Main Results:
- Parent-reported functional measures on PEDI demonstrated a strong correlation with formal assessments of cognition, language, and motor development on BSID-3 (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- The PEDI tool can serve as a reliable and more accessible alternative to the BSID-3 for screening neurodevelopmental outcomes in low-risk infants.
- PEDI provides a practical assessment solution in settings with limited resources or clinician availability.
Background:
Neonates requiring early surgical intervention for major non-cardiac congenital anomalies are at high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Early recognition of potential neuro-developmental delay is critical to facilitate access to early childhood intervention services and therefore maximise the functional capabilities of these children.
Aims:
This study aims to compare Bayley's Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-3) and the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) as early screening tools in predicting neuro-developmental disability across multiple domains. In addition, it looks at determining which pre, peri and post-operative risk factors lend themselves to more adverse outcomes.
Study Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Subjects:
Neonates requiring surgical intervention at the Royal Children's Hospital from 2012 to 2018 who subsequently underwent neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age.
Outcome Measures:
The main outcome was the relationship between performance on the PEDI compared with the BSID-3, in 2-year-olds following neonatal surgery.
Results:
Parent -reported functional measures across all domains on PEDI strongly related to the more formal measures of cognition, language, and motor development assessed on BSID-3 (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The questionnaire-based PEDI tool could be considered a reliable replacement to the formal Bayley (BSID-3) scale in low-risk infants and provide a more accessible means of assessment where there are deficiencies in availability of suitably trained clinicians or limited resource centres.

