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ABSTRACT:The current study aimed to characterize changes in EEG-related measures after noxious stimuli in neonates and to assess their potential utility as measures of pain and/or discomfort during neonatal intensive care. Seventy-two healthy term infants were investigated: Twenty-eight had a non-skin-breaking pin-prick on the heel, randomized to receive either oral glucose (n ϭ 16) or water (n ϭ 12) before the stimulus. Twenty-one infants were studied during a venous blood sample from the dorsum of the hand, 23 infants during a capillary heel stick. Behavioral pain responses were assessed with the Premature Infant Pain Profile Scale. The stimulus evoked a significant increase in higher frequency components (10 -30 Hz) which also correlated to behavioral measures. The frontotemporal localization of the increased activity with frequency bands similar to electromuscular artifacts and the relation to behavioral measures confirmed that this activity corresponds to an increase in muscle tone. There was no change in frontal EEG asymmetry in any of the groups.

The study was performed to investigate any associations between routine ultrasonography during pregnancy and subsequent reduced vision and/or hearing among children. A follow-up was carried out of primary school children born to women who took part in two randomized, controlled trials of routine ultrasonography during pregnancy. Of 2428 eligible singletons, 2161 (89%) were followed up with a parental questionnaire and with information from maternal and child health centers. Parents assessed vision and hearing in their children and reported their observations in questionnaires. At the age of 7 years, the children were also screened with bilateral visual acuity tests and pure tone audiometry at public maternal and child health centers. No significant differences between ultrasound-screened children and their controls were found in the parental assessment of vision or hearing. The objective tests did not show any significant differences between children in the two groups with regard to visual acuity or hearing. The risk of reduced vision or hearing was no greater for children of mothers who had been offered routine ultrasonography during pregnancy than for those whose mothers had not received that offer.

These results suggest that for women who were screened with ultrasound, obstetricians were less likely to induce labor due to apparent post-term pregnancy, than for women who were not screened. All 10 pairs of twins in the screened group were diagnosed at the routine examination. These data also suggest that perinatal morbidity might be slightly lower in the screened group.

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