Individual longitudinal neurodevelopmental trajectories of children treated with hypothermia for perinatal asphyxia from 3 months to 5 years of age

Background Hypothermia for perinatal asphyxia is a common treatment to decrease morbidity. This study aims to describe a) individual longitudinal neurodevelopmental trajectories over 5 years in children with perinatal asphyxia treated with hypothermia and b) the correlation between movement quality at 3 months and motor developmental outcomes at 5 years of age. Methods In this longitudinal cohort study, 18 children (12 male) were assessed at 3 (t1), 6 (t2), 12 (t3), and 24 (t4) months, and at the age of 5 (t5) years, with standardized norm-referenced tests. Results Six children showed abnormal movement quality assessed with General Movements (t1) and all showed severe neurodevelopmental disabilities at t5. The 12 children without severe disabilities, showed a significant normalization of z-scores over the five assessment points (linear mixed model analysis). At t5, four of these children scored mildly delayed motor or cognitive development. Conclusion and implications Children without anomalies on the MRI before hospital discharge and normal movement quality at 3 months of age showed normal neurodevelopment at the age of 5, however, individual motor trajectories showed variability over time. Presents of abnormal GMs tend to detect CP and developmental problems, advocating a developmental surveillance to determine need for early intervention.