Developmental screening of full-term infants at 16 to 18 months of age after in-utero exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection

• Published in: Journal of perinatology 2023-05, Vol.43 (5), p.659-663
• Main Authors: Shah, Aashish V., Howell, Heather B., Kazmi, Sadaf H., Zaccario, Michele, Sklamberg, Felice E., Groth, Taylor, Martindale, Pia, Dreyer, Benard, Verma, Sourabh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/255/2514; 692/700/1720; Age; Babies; Cohort Studies; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Female; Human exposure; Human growth; Humans; Infant; Infants; Intrauterine exposure; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mothers; Nervous System Malformations; Pediatric Surgery; Pediatrics; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology; Prenatal development; Problem solving; Prospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• ISSN: 0743-8346; 1476-5543
• DOI: 10.1038/s41372-023-01642-3

Objective To screen for neurodevelopmental delays in a cohort of full-term infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2. Study design This was a prospective, descriptive cohort study of full-term infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. Subjects underwent neurodevelopmental screening using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires ® -Third Edition (ASQ ® -3) at 16 to 18 months age. Results Of 51 subjects, twelve (24%) were below cutoff, and twenty-seven (53%) were either below or close to the cutoff in at least one developmental domain. Communication (29%), fine motor (31%), and problem-solving (24%) were the most affected domains. There were no differences in outcomes between infants born to asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic mothers. Conclusion We observed increased risk of neurodevelopmental delays during screening of infants born at full-term to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 at 16 to 18 months age. These results highlight the urgent need for follow-up studies of infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2.