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Ante-natal and post-natal factors affecting the rate of growth of corpus callosum in preterm infants: a retrospective study

Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the effect of ante-natal steroids, post-natal narcotic/opiate use and prolonged total parenteral nutrition on the rate of growth of corpus callosum in premature infants. The secondary objective was to examine the effect of IVH, BPD and NEC on corpus callosal growth. Methods: Premature infants ≤ 32 weeks of gestation and ≤1500 grams admitted to an academic level III NICU between January 2010 to December 2020 were included in this retrospective study. Inner and outer lengths of corpus callosum (CC) and diagonal measurements of globo-thalamic-ovoid (GTO) were measured serially on day 3,10, 30, 60 and 90 days of life using cranial ultrasonogram. Preterm infants were stratified into <26 weeks (n=47), 26-28 weeks (n=38), and 29-32 weeks (n=66) gestational age to examine the clinical factors responsible for perturbations in growth. Results: The inner and outer measurements of CC (cm) in preterm infants <26 weeks gestational age was significantly different (p<.001) compared to infants in 26-28 week and 29–32-week category. The GTO measurements were also significantly different between gestational age categories during the same time intervals ( p<.001). While the CC measurements in <26-week preterm infants at 32 weeks corrected age are not different compared to preterm infants born at 32 weeks, the GTO measurements were significantly different (p <.01). Conclusion: Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that only birth weight and gestational age explained 70% of variation in the measurements of corpus callosum at birth. Neither pre-natal nor post-natal factors negatively impacted the post-natal corpus callosal growth.
Keywords: Premature infants, neurodevelopment, corpus callosum, very low birth weight