Neuropsychological Follow-up After Neonatal ECMO

OBJECTIVE: To assess the longitudinal development of intelligence and its relation to school abstract performance in a nationwide cohort of neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) survivors and evaluate predictors of outcome at 8 years of age. METHODS: Repeated measurements assessed intelligence of neonatal ECMO survivors at 2, 5, and 8 years (n = 178) with the use of validated, standardized instruments. Selective attention (n = 148) and type of education were evaluated in the 8-year-olds. RESULTS: Intelligence remained stable and average across development (mean ± SD IQ: at 2 years, 102 ± 18; at 5 years, 100 ± 17; and at 8 years, 99 ± 17 [P = .15]). Children attending regular education without the need for help (n