Developmental status of human immunodeficiency virus-exposed uninfected premature infants compared with premature infants who are human immunodeficiency virus unexposed and uninfected.
Charne Cox, Joanne Potterton, Samantha Rosie
PMID 32671275WHAT IT FOUND
Among premature infants, HIV-exposed uninfected babies had similar cognitive scores and higher language and motor scores than HIV-unexposed uninfected babies.
The unexposed group had more meningitis and jaundice, which are documented causes of neurological impairment.
Key findings
01Cognitive composite scores did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.97).
02Language and motor composite scores were significantly lower in the HIV-unexposed uninfected group than in the HIV-exposed uninfected group (p = 0.00 and p = 0.04).
03The HIV-unexposed uninfected group had significantly more infants with a history of meningitis and neonatal jaundice than the HIV-exposed uninfected group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a convenience sample of 60 infants from one hospital clinic, so the groups may not represent all premature infants. Development was measured only once, between 16 days and 6 months corrected age, so it cannot show whether delays persist. The HIV-unexposed group had more meningitis and neonatal jaundice, and the number with meningitis was too small for further analysis. Mean corrected age differed slightly between groups, 2.26 months versus 2.9 months, although this was not significant. Only premature infants were included, so the study does not address infants born at term.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest declaration was included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that HIV exposure improves infant development. The study was cross-sectional, and the HIV-unexposed group had more meningitis and neonatal jaundice, which can affect language and motor scores.