Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preschool and School Aged Children With Biliary Atresia and Their Native Liver

• Authors: James E. Squires, University of Pittsburgh; Vicky Lee Ng, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto; Kieran Hawthorne, Michigan Medicine; Lisa Henn, Michigan Medicine; Lisa G. Sorensen, Michigan Medicine; Emily M. Fredericks, Michigan Medicine; Estella M. Alonso, Ann and Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital; Karen F. Murray, University of Washington; Kathleen M. Loomes, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Saul Karpen, Emory University; Laurel A. Cavallo, Baylor College of Medicine; Jean P. Molleston, Indiana University; Jorge A. Bezerra, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center; Philip Rosenthal, University of California, San Francisco; Robert H. Squires, University of Pittsburgh; Kasper S. Wang, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Kathleen B. Schwarz, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Ronen Arnon, Mt. Sinai Medical Center; John C. Magee, University of Michigan; Ronald J. Sokol, Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Journal Title: JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY AND NUTRITION
• Volume: Volume 70, Number 1
• Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS | 2020-01-01, Pages 79-86
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000002489
• Subjects: Biology, Neuroscience; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Nutrition
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Gastroenterology & Hepatology; Nutrition & Dietetics; Pediatrics; chronic liver disease; cognitive; pediatric; QUALITY-OF-LIFE; NEUROCOGNITIVE OUTCOMES; TRANSPLANTATION; INFANTS; GROWTH

Abstract

Objectives:The aim of the study was to assess neurodevelopmental outcomes among children with biliary atresia (BA) surviving with their native liver at ages 3 to 12 years and evaluate variables that associate with neurodevelopment.Methods:Participants (ages 3-12 years) in a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study underwent neurodevelopmental testing with Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 3rd edition (WPPSI-III, ages 3-5 years) and Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV, ages 6-12 years). Continuous scores were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smironov tests compared with a normal distribution (mean = 100 ± 15). Effect of covariates on Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) was analyzed using linear regression.Results:Ninety-three participants completed 164 WPPSI-III (mean age 3.9) and 51 WISC-IV (mean age 6.9) tests. WPPSI-III FSIQ (104 ± 14, P < 0.02), Verbal IQ (106 ± 14, P < 0.001), and General Language Composite (107 ± 16, P < 0.001) distributions were shifted higher compared with test norms. WISC-IV FSIQ (105 ± 12, P < 0.01), Perceptual Reasoning Index (107 ± 12, P < 0.01), and Processing Speed Index (105 ± 10, P < 0.02) also shifted upwards. In univariate and multivariable analysis, parent education (P < 0.01) was a significant predictor of FSIQ on WPPSI-III and positively associated with WISC-IV FSIQ. Male sex and higher total bilirubin and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) predicted lower WPPSI-III FSIQ. Portal hypertension was predictive of lower WISC-IV FSIQ.Conclusions:This cohort of children with BA and native liver did not demonstrate higher prevalence of neurodevelopmental delays. Markers of advanced liver disease (higher total bilirubin and GGT for age ≤5 years; portal hypertension for age ≥6) correlate with lower FSIQ and may identify a vulnerable subset of patients who would benefit from intervention.