Impact of Different Types of Nosocomial Infection on the Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Karin Pichler,
Vito Giordano,
Gereon Tropf,
Renate Fuiko,
Angelika Berger,
Judith Rittenschober-Boehm
Affiliations
Karin Pichler
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Vito Giordano
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Gereon Tropf
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Renate Fuiko
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Angelika Berger
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Judith Rittenschober-Boehm
Division of Neonatology, Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Nosocomial infections (NIs) are important conditions associated with mortality and morbidity in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of NIs and the different subtypes on neurodevelopmental outcomes in a cohort of VLBWIs. VLBWIs born with a gestational age between 23 0/7 and 31 6/7 weeks in a level III neonatal center were enrolled. Neonatal morbidities as well as the neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of corrected age were analyzed. Six-hundred infants completed the study successfully. Of these, 38% experienced an NI episode. NIs were associated with an increased risk of neonatal complications, such as brain injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and death, and were a significant risk factor for adverse motor development at 2 years of corrected age in our cohort of VLBWIs. The negative impact of NIs on neurodevelopmental outcomes was particularly associated with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), suspected NIs and Gram-positive NIs. This study demonstrated that NIs are a significant risk factor for both morbidity and mortality as well as adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in VLBWIs.
