Neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with Vein of Galen aneurismatic malformation

Objective. Vein of Galen aneurismatic malformation (VGAM) is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by an arteriovenous shunting of the choroidal system draining into the vein of Galen forerunner. Reliable long-term data on neurodevelopmental outcome are still lacking.
Our objective is to report developmental functioning assessed through The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) in patients with VGAM.
Materials and Methods. We conducted an observational retrospective study collecting medical data from the electronic medical records during the study period April 2020-April 2022.
Developmental outcome was assessed using three domains (cognitive, language, motor) of Bayley-III Scales at 6 months of age.
Results. A total of 3 infants with VGAM (100% male, 0% female) were included in the study.
Bayley-III Scales were performed at a mean age of 6.6 months (Table 1).
No decrease in cognition (Mean Mental Developmental Index: 100) and language domains (Mean Language Score: 105) was detected in our cohort.
We were able to detect a decrease in motor skills in 1 patient (33.3%) showing a motor Development Index of 73 at 6.6 months of age.
Conclusions. Infants with VGAM may display poorer motor development at 6 months.
Our study emphasizes the relative importance of Bayley-III Scores to be routinely used in a clinical setting to assess the development of children with VGAM.
Early identification of delay is critical to improve early intervention in order to minimize impairment.