The study’s goal was to use Prechtl’s validated General Movement Assessment to examine the neurological state of newborns with biliary atresia (BA) at the time of diagnosis. Infants with BA were included in a countrywide cohort study on a first-come, first-served basis. General movements (GMs) are characterised as “writhing motions” from birth to roughly 46 weeks of postmenstrual age (PMA). “Fidgety movements” appear between weeks 46 and 49 of PMA. The researchers assigned GM optimality ratings or motor optimality ratings based on the situation. They classified GM optimality scores 36 and MOS 26 as unusual and compared the findings to two reference values. They looked at GMs in 35 babies with BA who weighed 3370 g at delivery. The proportion of newborns with aberrant GMs was considerably greater in BA than in the two healthy newborn reference groups. Total and direct bilirubin levels were 165 mol/L and 134 mol/L, respectively. The height z score was 0.05, the weight z score was 0.52, and the mean upper arm circumference z score was 1.80. We discovered no statistically significant link between abnormal GMs and clinical factors.
Almost half of the BA newborns had abnormal GMs at the time of diagnosis, indicating neurological damage. It is necessary to closely watch these infants in order to identify their specific neurodevelopmental pathways.
