Identification of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients at highest risk for cerebral palsy early in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay can allow for earlier, targeted rehabilitation services starting when the brain is most highly plastic and rapidly developing.

Initial Observations

• Heart rate and oxygen characteristics are routinely collected in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
• Abnormal heart rate and oxygenation characteristics in infants predict multiple adverse outcomes.
• Data is available for 1917 infants going back to 2009. 74 of the 1917 infants for whom data is available were diagnosed with cerebral palsy

Core Questions

• Can a cardiorespiratory analytical model be designed that predicts the likelihood of developing cerebral palsy?

Research Team

• Lisa C. Letzkus, PhD RN CPNP-AC; Genevieve Ray Lyons, MD; Karen Fairchild, MS