SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF THE NEONATAL VISUAL ASSESSMENT TO PREDICT MOTOR AND COGNITIVE OUTCOMES IN INFANTS BORN VERY PRETERM

Abstract

Background: Very preterm infants are at an increased risk of being born with or acquiring a range of neurodevelopmental impairments. The Neonatal Visual Assessment (NVA) has gained attention for its ability to predict visual and neurodevelopmental outcomes from term age. This study aimed to compare NVA results of preterm and term-born infants, and to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of the NVA at term equivalent age (TEA) and three months corrected age (CA) to predict motor and cognitive outcomes at 12 months CA in very preterm infants. Methods: This prospective observational cohort study recruited very preterm infants born before 31 weeks of gestation. The NVA was assessed at TEA and three months CA, and neurodevelopmental outcomes were performed at 12 months CA. The sensitivity and specificity of the NVA were calculated using cut points derived from percentile scores of a cohort of term-born infants. Results: 200 preterm (55% male) and 46 term-born infants (46% male) were included in the analysis. The mean NVA scores of preterm and term-born infants were markedly different at TEA (preterm 15.7 ± 5.1; term-born 21.5 ± 4.7, p < 0.01). At TEA and three months CA, the NVA had low-to-moderate sensitivity and moderate specificity for all outcomes at 12 months CA. Conclusion: The NVA at TEA and three months CA was not a strong predictor of motor and cognitive impairments in this contemporary cohort of very preterm infants. Additional assessments should be used to identify infants at risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.L6382922822022-06-28 <br />