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Background: Spontaneous movements are a crucial part of early motor development. Healthy term infants may produce up to 200 spontaneous touches to their body and surface in 10 minutes with their hands. The existing literature shows differences in early motor development between very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) and healthy term infants. It is not known whether the quantity of spontaneous touches differs between very preterm infants and healthy term infants. Aims: This study investigates whether the overall quantity of spontaneous touches to body and surface is lower among low-risk very preterm infants compared with healthy term infants. Methods: Videos of 25 low-risk very preterm infants (10 female) at a mean corrected age of 13 weeks [Mean = 12.76, Standard Deviation (SD) = 1.07] were recorded during clinical routine and compared with videos of five healthy term infants (chronological mean age = 9.00, SD = 0.63). Spontaneous touches of both hands were coded, assessing number and location of each touch (i.e., body vs. surface). Results: Very preterm infants showed significantly fewer overall touches per minute (Mean = 8.87, SD = 4.13) than healthy term infants (Mean = 13.19, SD = 4.28), 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = [0.00, 6.84] (p = 0.029). Discussion and conclusion: This study shows that low-risk very preterm infants, on average, produce fewer spontaneous touches than healthy term infants at three months of corrected age. The present study provides important exploratory evidence for further studies, particularly longitudinal investigations of all dimensions of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Parents of preterm infants face a stressful life event which might have long term impact on the parent-child relation as well as on the infant's cognitive and socio-emotional development. Both music therapy (MT) and physical contact (PC) are stress-reducing interventions for parents and preterm infants on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Meanwhile, especially close PC is considered as standard care (SC) in most NICUs. However, the effect of live performed MT with PC on parental perceived stress and cortisol levels has barely been investigated. We hypothesized that MT with PC leads to reduced stress levels and lower salivary cortisol concentrations compared to SC in parents of preterm infants during the first 4 weeks after birth. Methods: Randomized-controlled trial enrolling the parents of 99 preterm infants (MT n = 50, SC n = 49 infants). The infants received either MT with PC or SC only. Perceived stress was measured with the perceived stress questionnaire 20 (PSQ-20) after birth and 4 weeks later. Salivary cortisol levels were obtained and measured weekly after birth for 4 weeks. Results: Forty-two mothers and eight fathers of the intervention group (MT with PC) as well as n = 43 mothers and n = 6 fathers of the control group (SC) were enrolled. For the intervention group, salivary cortisol was reduced 4 weeks after birth [mothers 5.5 nmol/l (confidence interval (CI) 3.6-7.5); fathers 8.3 (CI 7.2-9.4)] compared to the control group [mothers 10.3 nmol/l (CI 5.4-15.3); fathers 14.8 (CI 8.9-20.7)]. Overall perceived stress scores decreased in the intervention group (mothers -17.6; fathers -12.6) and increased in the control group (mothers +6.1; fathers +21.4) over 4 weeks. Discussion: Live-performed MT with PC in preterm infants might be an effective, non-invasive intervention to reduce parental stress and cortisol levels. Future studies should investigate the long-term effects of this intervention on the parent-infant relation as well as on the infants' cognitive and socio-emotional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Very preterm infants are at increased risk of brain injury and impaired brain development. The Total Abnormality Score and biometric parameters, such as biparietal width, interhemispheric distance and transcerebellar diameter, are simple measures to evaluate brain injury, development and growth using cerebral magnetic resonance imaging data at term-equivalent age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the Total Abnormality Score and biometric parameters with general movements in very preterm infants with brain injury. Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 70 very preterm infants (≤32 weeks' gestation and/or <1500 g birth weight) born between January 2017 and June 2021 in a level-three neonatal intensive care unit with brain injury—identified using cerebral magnetic resonance imaging data at term-equivalent age. General movements analysis was carried out at corrected age of 8–16 weeks. Binary logistic regression and Spearman correlation were used to examine the associations between the Total Abnormality Score and biometric parameters with general movements. Results: There was a significant association between the Total Abnormality Score and the absence of fidgety movements [OR: 1.19, 95% CI = 1.38–1.03] as well as a significant association between the transcerebellar diameter and fidgety movements (Spearman ρ = −0.269, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Among very preterm infants with brain injury, the Total Abnormality Score can be used to predict the absence of fidgety movements and may be an easily accessible tool for identifying high-risk very preterm infants and planning early interventions accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Structured and standardized follow-up care for preterm and high-risk infants enables an early detection of developmental deficits. The aim is to adapt the in-person follow-up to video consultation. Developmental delays can thus be identified at an early stage, independently of in-person contact. Methods:The adaptation of these follow-up to video consultation is presented descriptively, compared with the in-person consultation (similarities, differences, challenges, and limitations). Professionals's experiences with the adaption are described. Results:The experience of n = 267 video consultations for follow-up of children up to 6 years shows that an adaptation of the in-person consultation is necessary and possible. Prerequisite is a digital medium with a stable internet connection on both sides: the professional and the family, as well as a portal for video consultations with certified, encrypted data transmission. Among infants, testing is almost entirely parent guided. For older children, testing procedures have been adapted. A neurological examination is largely possible, while a general pediatric examination is omitted. A survey on professionals' (n = 7) experiences with video- and in-person consultations found that the rate of complete follow-up visits and the resources required for taking medical histories, personnel, and time remained constant for both approaches. All reported that the video consultation is generally suitable for identifying developmental delays in children up to an age of 6 years comparable with in-person consultations. One professional stated that the physical examination of children aged ≥1 year is impossible. Discussion:Video consultation is an alternative despite some limitations when an in-person consultation is impossible. Developmental delays can be identified, and therapies recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A proportion of the convalescent SARS‐CoV‐2 pediatric population presents nonspecific symptoms, mental health problems, and a reduction in quality of life similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID‐19 symptomatic. However, data regarding its clinical manifestation and immune mechanisms are currently scarce. Methods: In this study, we perform a comprehensive clinical and immunological profiling of 17 convalescent COVID‐19 children with post‐acute COVID‐19 sequelae (PASC) manifestation and 13 convalescent children without PASC manifestation. A detailed medical history, blood and instrumental tests, and physical examination were obtained from all patients. SARS‐CoV‐2 reactive T‐cell response was analyzed via multiparametric flow cytometry and the humoral immunity was addressed via pseudovirus neutralization and ELISA assay. Results: The most common PASC symptoms were shortness of breath/exercise intolerance, paresthesia, smell/taste disturbance, chest pain, dyspnea, headache, and lack of concentration. Blood count and clinical chemistry showed no statistical differences among the study groups. We detected higher frequencies of spike (S) reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells among the PASC study group, characterized by TNFα and IFNγ production and low functional avidity. CRP levels are positively correlated with IFNγ producing reactive CD8+ T cells. Conclusions: Our data might indicate a possible involvement of a persistent cellular inflammatory response triggered by SARS‐CoV‐2 in the development of the observed sequelae in pediatric PASC. These results may have implications on future therapeutic and prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]