Home Stimulation for Brain-Asphyxiated Infants

This study examines the potential benefits of a home stimulation program to treat infants who have suffered from brain asphyxiation (lack of oxygen). The program involves one year of stimulatory activities. Progress will be evaluated through neurological and behavioral exams.

Although the incidence of brain injury in infants is only 2 to 5 per 1000 births, the legal and medical costs, the developmental delays, and the impact on the family are profound. Twenty to 30% of survivors of brain injury have some long-term neurologic sequelae. This randomized controlled trial will enroll 120 term and near-term neonates with a history of asphyxia to 1-year of a standard follow-up program (provided by the Los Angeles Regional Centers) or a home-based intervention program (Utah State University's Developmental Curriculum and Monitoring System, CAMS). The experimental intervention will include individualized cognitive/neuromotor stimulation given by the child's parents under the guidance of public health nurses. Following the intervention, measures will be used to determine functional capacity (Bayley II scale and neurologic examination), behavioral outcomes (HOME and NCAST by developmental specialists), and maternal outcomes (including parent-infant interaction and perceived stress). Infants will be assessed after the 1-year intervention by psychologists and physicians masked to the intervention. Functional MRI brain studies will be conducted at discharge and 18 months of age at UCLA to assess qualitative and quantitative sensorimotor representation. Secondary outcomes include care stress and social support as reported by parents, and demographics and medical factors obtained from the hospital records.