Factors Associated with Neurodevelopmental Impairment in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Objective: To identify factors associated with neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Study Design: We identified 151 patients with moderate to severe BPD from 2010 to 2014 with complete Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) scores at 24 months corrected age. We defined NDI as any diagnosis of cerebral palsy or ≥1 BSID composite scores of <80.

Results: The mean corrected age at BSID was 23 ± 1 months; 18% had a cognitive score of <80, 37% had a communication score of <80, and 26% had a motor score of <80. Cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 22 patients (15%); 84 (56%) patients did not have NDI. Patients with NDI had lower birth weight, but there was no difference in gestational age at birth, severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), necrotizing enterocolitis, or patent ductus arteriosus ligation compared with patients with no NDI. Ventilator days were greater in patients with NDI than in patients without NDI. More patients with NDI received furosemide and systemic corticosteroids and the hospital length of stay was longer than in patients with no NDI. Logistic regression modeling demonstrated that for every additional 100 g of birth weight the odds of NDI decreased by 35% and for every additional hospital day the odds of NDI increased by 1.3%.

Conclusions: In our cohort of patients with moderate to severe BPD, the majority had no NDI, and low birth weight and length of hospital stay were associated with increased risk of developing NDI. This finding suggests that there are potentially modifiable factors associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes in patients with BPD that deserve further study.