Very premature babies and west’s syndrome

Aim. To compare the prevalence of West’s syndrome in very preterm babies and in babies with prematurity of 1-2 degrees. Methods. Both retrospective and prospective study including 241 preterm babies who received out-patient or in-patient aid for different neurological disorders. Inclusion criteria for the first group were diagnosis of a neurological disorder, gestational age less than 31 weeks and birth weight not exceeding 1500 grams. Inclusion criteria for the second group were diagnosis of a neurological disorder, gestational age of 32-37 weeks and birth weight ranging from 1501 to 2500 grams. Results. Severe central nervous system damage, including such conditions as spastic quadriplegia (126 out of 157 1 stgroup babies, 80.3%, and 40 out of 84 2 ndgroup babies, 47.6%, р <0.001), developmental delay of cognitive functions (123 out of 157 1 stgroup babies, 78.3%, and 40 out of 84 1 stgroup babies, 47.6%, р <0,001) were more common in the first group. West’s syndrome was diagnosed in 22 (14%) of cases in 1 stgroup, in 3 (3.6%) of cases in 2 ndgroup (HR=4.4, 95% CI [1.28; 15.16], χ 2=6.42, р=0.01). In 21 (95.5%) of West’s syndrome cases, modified hypsarrhythmia was diagnosed by video electroencephalogram monitoring. Severe cerebral hypoxia of higher degrees, periventricular leukomalacia and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum were more common in 1 stgroup babies. Conclusion. Our study showed that the prevalence of West’s syndrome in very premature infants with neurological disorders was 4.4 times higher compared to babies with prematurity of 1-2 degrees. There was an association between West’s syndrome in preterm babies and such cerebral disorders as severe cerebral hypoxia of 3 rddegree, periventricular leukomalacia and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum.

very premature babies, West’s syndrome, epilepsy, risk factors, cerebral hypoxia