Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Newborns with Congenital Gastrointestinal Atresias

The population affected by gastrointestinal atresias and neurodevelopmental outcomes has not been well studied. Current evidence suggests that damage to the central nervous system is important in congenital gastrointestinal malformations. This study aims to understand the effects of gastrointestinal atresias on neurodevelopmental outcomes in our patient group.

This cross-sectional, population-based study examined patients with congenital gastrointestinal atresias who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and underwent gastrointestinal surgery. The Bayley III scale was administered to 32 patients aged 7-42 months.

Thirty-two patients with gastrointestinal atresia were included in the study. Eighteen (56.2%) of the patients were male. The median gestational age was 37 weeks (range 25-39 weeks) and the median birthweight was 2700 g (range 700-3800 g). A Bayley III evaluation was performed at a median age of 13.7 months (range 7-41 months). The cognitive, motor, and language composite scores were 90, 86, and 89, respectively. The motor score was lower than the cognitive and language scores. No statistical difference was found between low scores, gender and stoma presence in all three neurodevelopmental categories (p < 0.05).

Patients with congenital gastrointestinal malformations are reported in the literature to have lower motor and language development scores. In our study, lower cognitive and language scores were observed in only one patient, whereas motor delay was more prevalent in the study population. The close neurodevelopmental follow-up of infants with gastrointestinal atresies may improve the quality of life.