Repetitive neonatal pain and neurocognitive abilities in ex-preterm children

摘要

Burgeoning research has focused on the neurocognitive outcomes of prematurity among school-aged children [5,6,8,38] and young adults [10,45], because of its impact on adult cognition, physical and mental health, and employment status. Most studies reported that those born before 28 weeks' gestation were particularly vulnerable to poor neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes [14]. One prospective longitudinal study, for example, found that independent risk factors for school age impairments were gesta-tional age 24-28 weeks, chronic lung disease, and abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) before hospital discharge [8]. Various risk factors were postulated to explain the poor neurocognitive outcomes of preterm children compared with their term-born peers, including perinatal infections or inflammation, birth asphyxia, recurrent apnea/bradycardia, prolonged ventilation, hypothyroidism, hyperbilirubinemia, nutritional deficiencies, or the drugs used to treat preterm neonates, including glucocorti-coids, theophylline, morphine, and others [11,34,37].