Developmental medicine and child neurology
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Dev Med Child Neurol · Sep 2012
ReviewEarly sucking and swallowing problems as predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome in children with neonatal brain injury: a systematic review.
Early sucking and swallowing problems may be potential markers of neonatal brain injury and assist in identifying those infants at increased risk of adverse outcomes, but the relation between early sucking and swallowing problems and neonatal brain injury has not been established. The aim of the review was, therefore, to investigate the relation between early measures of sucking and swallowing and neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants diagnosed with neonatal brain injury and in infants born very preterm (<32wks) with very low birthweight (<1500g), at risk of neonatal brain injury. ⋯ Based upon the results of this review, there is currently insufficient evidence to clearly determine the relation between early sucking and swallowing problems and neonatal brain injury. Although early sucking and swallowing problems may be related to later neurodevelopmental outcomes, further research is required to delineate their value in predicting later motor outcomes and to establish reliable measures of early sucking and swallowing function.