Pain and neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants born very preterm

AIM: To investigate the impact of the level of pain experienced by infants born preterm on neurodevelopmental outcomes during their stay in a neonatal intensive care unit.

METHOD: In this retrospective data analysis we included all surviving infants born preterm with a gestational age between 23 and 32 weeks from 2011 to 2015, who were assessed using the Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale and examined at 1 year of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. We excluded all infants who had suffered severe neurological morbidities and undergone surgical interventions.

RESULTS: A total of 196 infants born preterm were included in the analyses: 105 in the 'no pain group' and 91 in the 'pain group'. Significant differences between the groups were detected for both mental and motor development (p = 0.003, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.23-10.92; p = 0.025, 95% CI 0.64-9.78). The results remained significant after controlling for other important medical conditions (p = 0.001, 95% CI -19.65 to -5.40; p = 0.010, 95% CI -16.18 to -2.29).

INTERPRETATION: Neonatal pain exposure was associated with altered neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants born very preterm at a corrected age of 12 months. This observation highlights the importance of adequate pain management to reduce the risk of poor neurodevelopmental outcomes in these vulnerable patients.