Functional measures on PEDI are associated with BSID-3 scales at 2 years, following neonatal surgery

Background: Neonates requiring early surgical intervention for major non-cardiac congenital anomalies are at high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Early recognition of potential neuro-developmental delay is critical to facilitate access to early childhood intervention services and therefore maximise the functional capabilities of these children.

Aims: This study aims to compare Bayley's Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-3) and the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) as early screening tools in predicting neuro-developmental disability across multiple domains. In addition, it looks at determining which pre, peri and post-operative risk factors lend themselves to more adverse outcomes.

Study design: Retrospective cohort study.

Subjects: Neonates requiring surgical intervention at the Royal Children's Hospital from 2012 to 2018 who subsequently underwent neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age.

Outcome measures: The main outcome was the relationship between performance on the PEDI compared with the BSID-3, in 2-year-olds following neonatal surgery.

Results: Parent -reported functional measures across all domains on PEDI strongly related to the more formal measures of cognition, language, and motor development assessed on BSID-3 (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The questionnaire-based PEDI tool could be considered a reliable replacement to the formal Bayley (BSID-3) scale in low-risk infants and provide a more accessible means of assessment where there are deficiencies in availability of suitably trained clinicians or limited resource centres.