THE INFLUENCE OF SEPTICEMIA ON SPONTANEOUS MOTILITY IN PRETERM INFANTS

The qualitative assessment of general movements (GMs) in preterm infan ts is a sensitive method to investigate the integrity of the central n ervous system. The question arises whether systemic infections affect the quality of GMs in a similar fashion to brain lesions. We were able to provide an answer to this problem in six infants (gestational age 24.4-32.4 weeks, birth weight 600-1660 grams), who had initially norma l GMs as analyzed from sequential video-recordings. All infants sustai ned a proven septicaemia (Candida albicans in two, Staphylococcus aure us in three, a coagulase-negative staphylococcus in one infant). Unint entionally, recordings were also made during the acute phase. The comp lexity and variability of the GMs remained largely intact in five of t he six infants; only one infant had transiently abnormal GMs. Compared with 1 week before the acute phase, the speed and amplitude of the GM s were diminished, giving the GMs a sluggish appearance. One to two we eks after the acute phase of septicaemia, the quality of GMs, i.e. spe ed and amplitude, had normalized in all infants. This study demonstrat es that it is possible to discriminate between abnormal GMs due to cer ebral lesions and sluggish GMs due to severe systemic infections, when the complexity of the GMs is considered as the main characteristic fo r judgement of normality of GM-quality. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Irel and Ltd.