Neurodevelopmental disorders of children screened by the infantile health promotion system

The Comparison of M-B CDI-K Short Form and K-ASQ as Screening Test for Language Development

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the usefulness of the communication domain in the Korean version of Ages and Stages Questionnaire (K-ASQ), and short form of the Korean version of MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (M-B CDI-K), as screening tests for language developmental delay.

METHODS

Data was collected between April 2010 and December 2013, from children who visited either the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation or the Developmental Delay Clinic, presenting with language development delay as their chief complaint. All the children took the short form of M-B CDI-K and K-ASQ as screening tests, and received diagnostic language assessments including Sequenced Language Scale for Infants (SELSI) or Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale (PRES).

RESULTS

A total of 206 children, mean age 29.7 months, were enrolled. The final diagnoses were developmental language disorder, global developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, etc. The M-B CDI-K short form and the communication domain of the K-ASQ had 95.9% and 76.7% sensitivity, and 82.4% and 85.3% specificity, with regards to diagnostic language assessments. The M-B CDI-K short form showed higher negative predictive value and better accuracy than the communication domain of the K-ASQ.

CONCLUSION

The screening ability of K-ASQ was not sufficient for children with language development delay, and the M-B CDI-K short form should be implemented for additional screening.

Language in children with neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Introduction Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NHIE) is a common neurologic injury, and it may compromise the child's language and cognition. Understanding the process of language acquisition becomes possible with concise knowledge about children's global development. Objective The aim of this study was to observe if language acquisition and development are impaired in children with NHIE. Methods Seventy children with NHIE from 1 to 24 months old were analyzed in a Pediatric Neurology Service of Hospital of Porto Alegre, South of Brazil using the Brunet-Lezine Scale. Statistical analysis used SPSS 13.0 software. Results Twenty-four (60%) of the subjects were boys, with mean gestational age of 35.8 weeks (standard deviation of 4.6) and mean Apgar score of 6.0 at 1 minute and 7.1 at 5 minutes. The variables age versus language showed significant inverse correlation (r =  - 0.566; p = 0.028). As the subjects aged, language tasks became more specific and dependent on the subject's direct action, rather than the subjective interpretation of their guardian. This correlation seems to be closely associated with scale configuration and with consequences of neurologic disorder, evincing the delays in language development. Conclusion This study achieved the goals proposed and highlights the necessity of greater attention by professionals to language skills during the initial period of child development.