Association of early cerebral oxygen saturation and brain injury in extremely preterm infants

Objective To assess the association between cerebral saturation (crSO(2)) using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and brain injury in extremely preterm infants. Study design This retrospective study includes 62 infants (<28 weeks gestation) who underwent continuous NIRS monitoring in the first 5 days after birth. Median crSO(2) were compared in 12 h increments between infants with and without germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage (GM/IVH). crSO(2) was also compared by IVH severity, onset, and by grade of injury on term equivalent MRI. Results After 48 h of life (HOL), infants with GM/IVH had significantly lower crSO(2) than those without GM/IVH in analysis adjusted for potential confounding e.g., at 49-60 HOL (69.5 (66.2, 72.8) vs. 74.7 (71.8, 77.6), p = 0.023). There were no significant differences in crSO(2) by IVH subcategory or injury severity on MRI. Conclusion Clinical use of NIRS has the potential to identify crSO(2) patterns associated with development of GM/IVH.

Automated summary

This study aims to assess the association between cerebral saturation measured by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and brain injury in extremely preterm infants. The results show that infants with germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage (GM/IVH) have significantly lower cerebral saturation compared to those without GM/IVH, suggesting the potential of NIRS in identifying cerebral saturation patterns associated with GM/IVH development.