Is Developmental Screening Enough in High-Risk Populations?

In this issue of Pediatrics, Sananes et al¹ leverage the Pediatric Heart Network Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial to describe developmental and behavioral concerns in a cohort of children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and related single right ventricle conditions. The Pediatric Heart Network recognized the importance of conducting developmental screening as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)^2,3 in this population at high risk for neurodevelopmental concerns.

The researchers evaluate how well a diagnostic developmental evaluation at 14 months of age, with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II,⁴ and developmental screening at 3, 4, and 5 years of age, with the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ),⁵ predicted the outcome of “developmental functioning” as measured by the Adaptive Score on the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2)⁶ at 6 years of age.

There were some correlations between early developmental evaluations and later outcomes at age 6 years, such as a “failure” (scoring 2 SDs below the mean) on the Psychomotor Developmental Index of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II …

Address correspondence to Susan Wiley, MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, ML 4002, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail: susan.wiley{at}cchmc.org