Pre-operative neurodevelopmental assessment in young children undergoing cardiac surgery in central South Africa: feasibility and clinical value.

Background: Pre-operative neurodevelopmental assessment in children with congenital heart disease may assist in the early identification of children at risk for or presenting with developmental delays. This study determined the pre-operative neurodevelopmental status of young children undergoing cardiac surgery in central South Africa. Feasibility and clinical value of pre-operative assessment were also evaluated.

Methods: Children 30 months and younger, scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery, were recruited into this prospective observational analytical study. Neurodevelopmental status was assessed using the Bayley-III and neuromotor examination. Variables associated with developmental performance were determined using ANOVAs. Sociodemographic and medical information were collected using a self-developed questionnaire. Pre-operative neurodevelopmental assessment was completed for 40 children at a median age of 7.4 months, including 30 children without and 10 with Down syndrome. Mean cardiac disease severity was moderate. The inclusion rate for pre-operative developmental assessment was 68%, limited mainly by environmental barriers.

Results: Children with Down syndrome had significantly poorer motor ( < 0.0001), cognitive ( < 0.0001) and language performance ( < 0.001) compared to children without Down syndrome. Apart from Down syndrome, disease severity ( = 0.02), younger age at first cardiac surgery ( < 0.01) and growth failure ( = 0.04) were significantly associated with poorer cognitive, language and motor performance, respectively. Just more than half of the children without ( = 16) and all children with Down syndrome ( = 10) scored below one standard deviation of the test mean score (scores < 85) on at least one of the Bayley-III subscales, meeting the criteria for referral to rehabilitation therapies, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and/or speech therapy.

Conclusion: Pre-operative neurodevelopmental assessment may be of high importance in South Africa to identify children at developmental risk, facilitating early referral to rehabilitation therapies.