Neonatology Division, AO S. Chiara, Trento, Italy.
Ital J Pediatr. 2010 Jun 13;36:45. doi: 10.1186/1824-7288-36-45.
Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a severe condition that determines a profound brain hypoxia. Inhaled nitric oxide was approved for the treatment of PPHN since the end of the 1990s. The debate upon the long term outcome of these children is still open. Our aim was to investigate the incidence of minor long-term neurodevelopmental problems in a cohort of children affected by severe PPHN.
All neonates with severe PPHN treated with inhaled nitric oxide in our facility between 01.01.02 and 31.12.07 were seen in a follow up visit and evaluated with a neurodevelopmental scale, according to their age at the time of observation.
in the study period 31 children were diagnosed with severe PPHN. 29 survived. 27 accepted to come for follow-up. Mean age: 41 months (range 12 - 70 months).26% of the evaluated children had some behavioural problems, while 22% had some language disturbances.
This is the first neurodevelopmental follow-up of neonates with PPHN in which children older than 36 months have been evaluated.There is an unexpected high incidence of minor neurological deficits, mainly regarding the fields of language and behaviour. These deficits seem to be related to the severity of illness rather than to the treatment. Language and behaviour are considered "higher functions" in humans and their integrity can be better defined in older children.
新生儿持续性肺动脉高压（PPHN）是一种严重的疾病，会导致严重的脑缺氧。自 20 世纪 90 年代末以来，吸入一氧化氮已被批准用于治疗 PPHN。关于这些儿童的长期预后的争论仍在继续。我们的目的是调查一组患有严重 PPHN 的儿童中轻度长期神经发育问题的发生率。
在 2002 年 1 月 1 日至 2007 年 12 月 31 日期间，在我们医院接受吸入一氧化氮治疗的所有患有严重 PPHN 的新生儿均在随访中接受检查，并根据其观察时的年龄使用神经发育量表进行评估。
在研究期间，31 名儿童被诊断为严重 PPHN。29 名存活。27 名同意进行随访。平均年龄：41 个月（范围 12-70 个月）。26%的评估儿童存在一些行为问题，而 22%存在一些语言障碍。
这是对患有 PPHN 的新生儿进行的首次神经发育随访，其中对年龄大于 36 个月的儿童进行了评估。存在意外的轻度神经发育缺陷高发生率，主要涉及语言和行为领域。这些缺陷似乎与疾病的严重程度有关，而与治疗无关。语言和行为被认为是人类的“高级功能”，其完整性可以在年龄较大的儿童中更好地定义。
