Neuroprotection in intrauterine herpesvirus infection

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of the neuroprotection complex in intrauterine herpesvirus infection. Materials and methods. To test the effectiveness of the developed neuroprotection complex (erythropoietin, early use of sensory integration techniques), 60 children with intrauterine herpesvirus infection, who were classified as high-risk for significant central nervous system disorders, were examined from birth to 1 year of age: the main group was 30 newborns who were additionally treated with a new complex of neuroprotection, and the comparison group — 30 children, whose medical support was carried out in accordance with the protocols of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The obtained data were processed by the methods of variational statistics accepted in medicine, using the Student's t-test for numerical indicators and Fisher's angular transformation for indicators represented by frequencies, with a critical significance level of p<0.05. The results. According to the static and motor development of children at the age of 12 months by the Denver scale, the vast majority of children (70.0%) of the comparison group were delayed in development by 2–4 months, while in the main group only 6 (20.0%) remained slight delay of 1–2 months. Accordingly, the assessment of psychomotor development according to the Griffiths scale was significantly reduced relative to the main group (112.7±7.6 points vs. 156.4±7.1 points, respectively). There were no cases of infant death in the examined children. Perinatal disorders of the central nervous system led to the disability of 2 (6.7%) children of the comparison group. Side effects or complications of the proposed therapy were not observed. Conclusion. The use of a complex of therapeutic and preventive measures aimed at neuroprotection in newborns with intrauterine infection with herpesviruses (prediction of the risk of central nervous system disorders at birth, in children at high risk — early neuroprotective treatment with low doses of recombinant erythropoietin and early use of sensory-motor integration) allows to improve neurocognitive and psychomotor abilities of children up to 1 year of age. The effectiveness of the neuroprotective complex was 80.0%. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The research protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the specified institution. Informed consent of the children's parents was obtained for the research. The authors declare no conflict of interest.