Association Between Neonatal Seizures and Social-Emotional Development and Adaptive Behavior in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Aim: To evaluate social-emotional development and adaptive behavioral outcomes in a cohort of extremely low birth weight infants with a confirmed diagnosis of neonatal seizures. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants weighing ≤1000 g at birth, with a diagnosis of neonatal seizures, evaluated between 21 and 31 months of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley-III) in a longitudinal neurodevelopmental follow-up program. Seizures were diagnosed using continuous video electroencephalography interpreted by a pediatric neurologist. Results: Nineteen infants meeting criteria were included and were matched with 38 control subjects, without clinical signs of seizures, and similar baseline characteristics. Multivariate analysis revealed significantly lower social-emotional development (–14.8 points; P =.05) and adaptive behavior scores (–10.8 points; P <.01) on the Bayley III in children with seizures compared to controls without clinical signs of seizure.Interpretation: Seizures are associated with impaired adaptive behavior and social-emotional development in this cohort of extremely low birth weight infants. These results highlight the negative association between neonatal seizures and functional development.