Children sustaining a severe acquired brain lesion before age 3 years: a follow-up study at 1 year from insult.

Purpose: To describe the functional and cognitive outcome of acquired brain injury of different aetiologies in children before age 3 years, at initial hospitalization and at a 1-year follow-up, after a rehabilitation programme.

Method: Data were collected at 6 months and at 12 months from the event; cognitive data were collected as soon as possible at T1. The full sample was divided into three groups according to aetiology.

Results: At T0, 74 patients showed so severe a cognitive impairment that they could not be evaluated, others presented with motor, linguistic and cognitive deficits. At T1, the proportion of non-evaluable patients decreased to 58 children. Patients with anoxic lesions showed the most unfavourable motor and visual outcome; patients with infectious lesions showed most frequently a motor global delay.

Conclusions: At 1 year from insult about 50% of patients could undergo a cognitive evaluation. Improvement differed according to aetiology.