High-Risk Preterm Infant Born to a Mother With COVID-19: A Case Report.
Cibelle Kayenne Martins Roberto Formiga, Aline Helena Nascimento Veloso, Kathlen Terezinha Montes Soares Fernandes and 3 others
PMID 36188897WHAT IT FOUND
A preterm infant born to a mother with COVID-19 tested negative after birth and had age-appropriate motor skills, but language and self-care lagged.
This describes one child's course, not evidence that any intervention worked.
Key findings
01At 17 months and 22 days chronological age, the infant's motor development was in the 90th percentile, while language and communication performance was 16.6% on the Portage Guide.
02The infant tested negative for COVID-19 at 1 and 72 hours after birth, and had respiratory complications requiring oxygen therapy.
03Speech and language evaluations were not performed because no speech therapist was on the follow-up team, and the family was later referred to one.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a case report of one infant, so it cannot show what usually happens to preterm infants born to mothers with COVID-19. Speech and language evaluations were not performed during follow-up because the hospital team lacked a speech therapist. The authors used clinical judgment to apply ICF difficulty qualifiers, and the available tools were not linked to the ICF. The infant received cardiac resuscitation, surfactant administration, intubation, oxygen therapy, transfusion of packed red blood cells, drug prescription, and home-care guidance, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated.
Declared interests
The research was supported by the State University of Goiás and the Federal University of Goiás. The authors declared no commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that follow-up prevented developmental problems or that COVID-19 caused the infant's difficulties. It describes one child, and the authors say the findings cannot be generalized to newborns of COVID-19 positive mothers.