Background
Neurological injury remains a major cause of neurodevelopmental morbidity in preterm-born infants. Accurate prognostication is essential for support of families and to target interventions. Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to precisely assess brain function and structure in preterm infants. This systematic review assessed the prognostic capacity of EEG and MRI alone, and in combination, for the prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm-born infants.
Methods
PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception until April 22, 2025. Studies were included if they examined the use of both MRI and EEG in preterm-born infants to predict neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Results
From 1669 records screened, 12 studies reporting 1630 infants were included in the systematic review. Of these 12, seven were sufficiently homogenous for quantitative meta-analysis, yielding pooled sensitivity and specificity values across 952 infants: EEG prognosticated abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes with sensitivity 64% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48-80%) and specificity 70% (95% CI 59-81%); MRI prognosticated abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes with sensitivity 64% (95% CI 48-80%) and specificity 89% (95% CI 81-97%). Three of these seven studies, reporting 372 infants, were sufficiently comparable to meta-analyze the combination of EEG and MRI, which predicted neurodevelopmental outcome with sensitivity 70% (95% CI 49-90%) and specificity 96% (95% CI 93-100%).
Conclusions
The combined use of EEG and MRI can predict abnormal neurodevelopment in preterm-born infants with high sensitivity and specificity and was superior to either test in isolation; however, data are limited as multimodal neurological-assessment is still an emerging practice in neonates.
扫码关注我们
求助内容:
应助结果提醒方式:
