Sepsis-associated injury of the nervous system in premature infants with very low body weight

Abstract

The immaturity of the organs and systems of preterm born children significantly complicates the differentiation between physiological and pathological changes in the brain. The etiology of brain damage in premature babies is complex and multifactorial, and even with the most favorable course of the neonatal period, they require additional respiratory support, a large number of invasive medical interventions and have a high risk of infectious complications. Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is defined as diffuse or multifocal cerebral damage that is caused by a systemic response to infection even without clinical or laboratory evidence of direct brain infection.

Purpose - to determine the clinical features of sepsis-associated brain damage in prematurely born children <32 weeks gestation with a birth weight <1500 g.

Materials and methods. 38 prematurely born children, who were divided into two groups, were examined. The Group I (n=14) included children who were diagnosed with sepsis in the early neonatal period. The Group II (n=24) included prematurely born, in which no septic lesions were observed.

Results. Children of both groups were born in a state of severe and moderate asphyxia. Analysis of associations between maternal, obstetric, and antenatal factors showed a significant prevalence of such factors as prelabor rupture of membranes, сervical weakness, rupture of the fetal bladder, and placement of an obstetric pessary in children with sepsis. All children with sepsis had pneumonia, acute kidney injury, and brain injury in the neonatal period. In the neurological status of children with very low birth weight who underwent SAE, the seizure syndrome, 3-4 grade intraventricular hemorrhages, periventricular leukomalacia, complications in the form of post-hemorrhagic ventriculomegaly were significantly more common.

Conclusions. In children with very low birth weight who underwent SAE, convulsive syndrome, 3-4 grade intraventricular hemorrhages, and periventricular leukomalacia were significantly more common.

The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the participating institution. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.