Inflammation at Birth is associated with Subnormal Development in Very Preterm Infants.

Preterm birth carries a risk for impaired developmental outcome. We have previously described an association between increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines during the first 72 postnatal hours and cerebral damage as detected by ultrasound in a cohort of 74 very preterm infants. Sixty-seven of 71 surviving children with a mean (SD) GA of 27.1 (2.0) weeks were examined at 2 years corrected age with a standardized neurological examination and with Bayley Scales of Infant Development. We hypothesized that pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations at or shortly after birth would be associated with an adverse developmental outcome. Increased concentrations of TNF-alpha in cord blood OR (95% CI) 3.3 (1.1-10.2), p=0.013 and at 6 h 7.8 (0.9-71.8), p=0.015 and of IL-6 in cord blood 1.7 (1.0-2.9), p=0.048 were associated with psychomotor developmental index