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• Sepsis and neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm neonates
  Lukas P. Mileder, Berndt Urlesberger
  Published on: 17 January 2020

• Published on: 17 January 2020

  Sepsis and neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm neonates

  • Lukas P. Mileder, Paediatrician Division of Neonatology, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
  • Other Contributors:
    • Berndt Urlesberger, Professor of Neonatology

  In their follow-up analysis of the PREMILOC trial, Baud et al.[1] found significantly better neurodevelopmental outcomes at 22 months postmenstrual age in those extreme preterm neonates of 24 and 25 weeks of gestation who had been treated with early hydrocortisone during the first ten days after birth. Improvements in global neurological assessments were most pronounced for moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment, with a prevalence of 2.1% in the hydrocortisone and 18.4% in the placebo group. In this context it has to be remembered that early hydrocortisone treatment had been associated with a significant increase in the late-onset sepsis rate before discharge for those most immature neonates of 24 and 25 weeks of gestation.[2]
  In their meta-analysis including seventeen observational studies, Alshaikh et al.[3] described “an increased risk of one or more long-term neurodevelopmental impairments … including cerebral palsy” in very-low-birth-weight infants who had suffered from culture-proven sepsis during the neonatal period. A follow-up analysis of extreme preterm neonates below 32 weeks of gestation found a significantly higher frequency of cerebral palsy at five years of age in those who had developed early- and/or late-onset sepsis.[4] Correspondingly, a positive association of Coagulase-negative staphylococcus sepsis and the risk of cognitive delay at a corrected age between 30 and 42 months has been reported in preterm neonates below 29 weeks of gestati...

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  In their follow-up analysis of the PREMILOC trial, Baud et al.[1] found significantly better neurodevelopmental outcomes at 22 months postmenstrual age in those extreme preterm neonates of 24 and 25 weeks of gestation who had been treated with early hydrocortisone during the first ten days after birth. Improvements in global neurological assessments were most pronounced for moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment, with a prevalence of 2.1% in the hydrocortisone and 18.4% in the placebo group. In this context it has to be remembered that early hydrocortisone treatment had been associated with a significant increase in the late-onset sepsis rate before discharge for those most immature neonates of 24 and 25 weeks of gestation.[2]
  In their meta-analysis including seventeen observational studies, Alshaikh et al.[3] described “an increased risk of one or more long-term neurodevelopmental impairments … including cerebral palsy” in very-low-birth-weight infants who had suffered from culture-proven sepsis during the neonatal period. A follow-up analysis of extreme preterm neonates below 32 weeks of gestation found a significantly higher frequency of cerebral palsy at five years of age in those who had developed early- and/or late-onset sepsis.[4] Correspondingly, a positive association of Coagulase-negative staphylococcus sepsis and the risk of cognitive delay at a corrected age between 30 and 42 months has been reported in preterm neonates below 29 weeks of gestation.[5]
  Undoubtedly, neurological development is a multi-factorial process with a multitude of influencing factors. The above described clear association between neonatal sepsis and neurological sequelae from previous studies is not only contrary to the results by Baud et al.[1], but further emphasizes the significance of their findings from the PREMILOC trial. As the authors had not discussed this relevant issue in their publications,[1] we would like to point that out.

  REFERENCES
  1. Baud O, Trousson C, Biran V, et al. Two-year neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants treated with early hydrocortisone: treatment effect according to gestational age at birth. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2019;104(1):F30–5. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2017-313756.
  2. Baud O, Maury L, Lebail F, et al. Effect of early low-dose hydrocortisone on survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely preterm infants (PREMILOC): a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, randomised trial. Lancet 2016;387(10030):1827–36. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00202-6.
  3. Alshaikh B, Yusuf K, Sauve R. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants with neonatal sepsis: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Perinatol 2013;33:558–64. doi: 10.1038/jp.2012.167.
  4. Mitha A, Foix-L'Hélias L, Arnaud C, et al. Neonatal infection and 5-year neurodevelopmental outcome of very preterm infants. Pediatrics 2013;132:e372–80. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-3979.
  5. Alshaikh B, Yee W, Lodha A, et al. Coagulase-negative staphylococcus sepsis in preterm infants and long-term neurodevelopmental outcome. J Perinatol 2014;34:125–9. doi: 10.1038/jp.2013.155.

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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