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Effect of mode of delivery on electrocortical activity of premature infants
Date Issued | Volume | Issue | Start Page | End Page |
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2024-04-05 | 60 | Suppl. 1 | 198 | 198 |
Background. Brain function monitoring of preterm infants is gaining importance due to the perinatal factors that may injure their central nervous system, especially during the first days of life. Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the mode of delivery may affect the amplitudeintegrated encephalography (aEEG) of premature newborns. Methods. We prospectively included infants born between 22–31 weeks of gestation between June 2020 and July 2022. Serial aEEG recordings were performed at five time points of age (days 1–3, 6–8, 13–15, 20–22, and 27–29). Recordings were analysed for background pattern, onset and appearance of cyclicity, and lower amplitude border and bandwidth, which were used to derive a composite Burdjalov score. Results were compared between the two groups of infants according to mode of delivery. For descriptive statistics, the means and standard deviations (SD) were calculated. The group comparisons were estimated using the Mann-Whitney U test with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Results. In total, 140 premature infants were included: 62 born by caesarean section (mean gestational age 28 weeks, SD 2.0; mean birth weight 1187 grams, SD 362.8) and 78 by vaginal delivery (median gestational age 27 weeks, SD 2.5; median birth weight 1117 g, SD 382.9). Better results were observed in the group of newborns born by caesarean section. This group had higher mean ranks of all dimension scores at each time point. Mean ranks of cycling scores were significantly higher in the caesarean section group at 6–8 days of age (p < 0.05), at other time points in all dimensions the difference was non-significant. Conclusion. Factors such as mode of delivery are associated with electroencephalographic tracing characteristics in the first month of life. This may be a consequence of increased central venous pressure and changes in cerebral blood flow during vaginal delivery. Fluctuation of cerebral blood flow is one of the mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of intraventricular haemorrhage in preterm infants. Changes in cerebral blood flow may lead to changes in brain electrical activity.