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Published on: May 4, 2021
Treatment With Inhaled Nitric Oxide and General Intelligence in Preterm Children in Two European Cohorts
Nicole Tsalacopoulos1,2,3,4, Valérie Benhammou5, Laetitia Marchand-Martin5
1Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Insights
Inhaled nitric oxide treatment did not affect cognitive performance in preterm children. Factors like maternal education and neonatal health are key predictors of IQ in early childhood.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care and developmental pediatrics.
- Neuroscience and child psychology.
Background:
- Preterm birth is a significant risk factor for cognitive deficits.
- Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is used in neonatal intensive care, but its long-term neurodevelopmental effects are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if inhaled nitric oxide treatment impacts cognitive performance at 5-6 years in preterm-born children.
- To identify predictors of cognitive ability in this population.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of two large European cohorts: German Neonatal Network (N=3606) and EPIPAGE-2 (N=2579).
- Children were assessed for general cognitive ability using IQ tests at 5-6 years of age.
- Classification and Regression trees were used to identify predictors of IQ.
Main Results:
- Inhaled nitric oxide treatment showed no association with IQ scores in either cohort.
- Key predictors of IQ included maternal educational level, gestational age at hospital discharge, intraventricular hemorrhage, and maternal country of birth.
Conclusions:
- Inhaled nitric oxide treatment does not appear to influence long-term cognitive outcomes in preterm children.
- Cognitive performance in early childhood is influenced by a combination of neonatal health, brain development, and socioeconomic factors.
Aim:
To investigate whether treatment with inhaled nitric oxide is associated with cognitive performance at age 5-6 years in preterm-born children.
Methods:
We analysed preterm children from two large European cohort studies, the German Neonatal Network (GNN) (N = 3606) and the French EPIPAGE-2 cohort (N = 2579) admitted to neonatal care and followed up at age 5-6 years. Both cohorts had recorded data on iNO treatment. General cognitive ability was tested with IQ tests. Classification and Regression trees analysis was used to identify prenatal, perinatal and neonatal, clinical and social-environmental predictors of IQ.
Results:
In both cohorts, treatment with inhaled nitric oxide was not associated with IQ at age 5-6 years. Analysis identified maternal educational level, gestational age at discharge from hospital, intraventricular haemorrhage and maternal country of birth as important factors associated with IQ scores.
Conclusion:
Treatment with inhaled nitric oxide was neither negatively nor positively associated with IQ at age 5-6 years. Neonatal and brain health, as well as socioeconomic factors are important for cognitive performance in early childhood.
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