Screening and Evaluation of Neurodevelopmental Impairments in Infants Under 6 Months of Age with Congenital Heart Disease

Clinical evaluation of neurodevelopmental impairments before 6 months of age is needed in congenital heart disease (CHD) to promote early referral to developmental interventions. The objective was to identify the risk of cerebral palsy (CP) and to compare neurodevelopment outcomes in infants with and without CHD. In a longitudinal study, 30 infants with CHD and 15 infants without CHD were assessed at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months of age. Included measures were General Movement Assessment (GMA), Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and the Bayley Scale of Infant Development, third edition (Bayley-III), selected to identify the risk of CP, document neurodevelopmental impairments and infants’ eligibility for early intervention services. Abnormal GMA categories were found in the CHD group where 48% had poor repertoire and 15% were at high risk of CP. At 3 months of age, CHD group had significantly lower TIMP scores compared to infants without CHD [ t (41) = 6.57, p = 0.01]. All infants in the study had higher Bayley-III scores at 6 months than at 3 months of age. Infants with CHD had lower gross motor, fine motor and cognitive Bayley-III scores compared to their peers without CHD. Over time infants without CHD outperformed the CHD group in the gross motor skills [ F (1,41) = 11.76, p = .001]. Higher prevalence of abnormal GMs, lower TIMP and Bayley-III were found in infants with single ventricle physiology compared to two-ventricle physiology. The risk of CP exists in infants with CHD, and these infants have worse outcomes compared to their peers without CHD. These differences are intensified in the single ventricle population. Clinical Trial Registration National Institute of Health, Unique identifier: NCT03104751; Date of registration—April 7, 2017.