Perinatal inflammation exposure and developmental outcomes 7 years after neonatal arterial ischaemic stroke

Abstract

AbstractAimTo test the association between perinatal inflammation exposure and Full‐Scale IQ (FSIQ) score 7 years after neonatal arterial ischaemic stroke (NAIS).MethodWe conducted a cross‐sectional ancillary study nested in a multicentric longitudinal French cohort of infants born at term with NAIS between November 2003 and October 2006. Seventy‐three children were included (45 males, 28 females). The a priori defined primary outcome measure was the FSIQ score assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition at 7 years of age.ResultsSeventeen (23%) of the included children were exposed to perinatal inflammation. Exposure to perinatal inflammation was independently associated with an increase of FSIQ score (coefficient 13.4, 95% confidence interval 1.3–25.4; p = 0.03). Children exposed to perinatal inflammation had a higher median cerebral volume, a lower median lesion volume, and less extensive lesion distributions compared to non‐exposed children.InterpretationWe propose the existence of two NAIS categories: arteritis‐associated NAIS in children exposed to perinatal inflammation and embolism‐associated NAIS in children non‐exposed to perinatal inflammation. Identifying these two NAIS categories would open the possibility for specific curative strategies: anti‐inflammatory strategy in arteritis‐associated NAIS and recanalization strategy in embolism‐associated NAIS.