Children's Medical Center, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
BMJ Paediatr Open. 2024 May 31;8(1):e002493. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-002493.
To compare the neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premature infants born in 2018 were assigned to the pre-pandemic group, while those born in 2019 were assigned to the during-pandemic group.
Nationwide cohort study.
Very low birthweight premature infants registered in the Taiwan Premature Infant Follow-up Network database.
Anti-epidemic measures, including quarantine and isolation protocols, social distancing, the closure of public spaces and restrictions on travel and gatherings during COVID-19 pandemic.
Outcomes were measured by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition at corrected ages of 6, 12 and 24 months old. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) was applied to incorporate all measurements into a single model.
Among the 1939 premature infants who were enrolled, 985 developed before the pandemic, while 954 developed during the pandemic. Premature infants whose development occurred during the pandemic exhibited better cognitive composite at the corrected age of 6 months (beta=2.358; 95% CI, 1.07 to 3.65; p<0.001), and motor composite at corrected ages of 12 months (beta=1.680; 95% CI, 0.34 to 3.02; p=0.014). GEE analysis showed that infants who had grown during the pandemic achieved higher scores in cognitive composite (beta=1.416; 95% CI, 0.36 to 2.48; p=0.009).
Premature infants in Taiwan who developed during the pandemic showed better neurodevelopment compared with those born before the pandemic.
比较 COVID-19 大流行前后早产儿的神经发育结局。
将 2018 年出生的早产儿分配到流行前组，将 2019 年出生的早产儿分配到流行期间组。
全国性队列研究。
在台湾早产儿随访网络数据库中登记的极低出生体重早产儿。
包括检疫和隔离协议、社交距离、公共场所关闭以及 COVID-19 大流行期间旅行和聚会限制在内的防疫措施。
使用贝利婴幼儿发育量表第三版在矫正年龄 6、12 和 24 个月时评估结局。广义估计方程（GEE）被应用于将所有测量结果纳入单个模型。
在纳入的 1939 名早产儿中，985 名在大流行前发育，954 名在大流行期间发育。在流行期间发育的早产儿在矫正年龄 6 个月时表现出更好的认知综合得分（β=2.358；95%CI，1.07 至 3.65；p<0.001），在矫正年龄 12 个月时表现出更好的运动综合得分（β=1.680；95%CI，0.34 至 3.02；p=0.014）。GEE 分析显示，在流行期间生长的婴儿在认知综合得分上的得分更高（β=1.416；95%CI，0.36 至 2.48；p=0.009）。
与大流行前出生的早产儿相比，台湾在大流行期间发育的早产儿表现出更好的神经发育。
