Associations of perioperative characteristics with motor function in preschool children born with esophageal atresia

Background Children born with esophageal atresia experience long‐term neurodevelopmental deficits, with unknown origin. Aims To find associations between perioperative variables during primary esophageal atresia repair and motor function at age 5 years. Methods This ambidirectional cohort study included children born with esophageal atresia who consecutively had been operated on in the Erasmus MC‐Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, from January 2007 through June 2013. The perioperative data of this cohort were collected retrospectively; the motor function data prospectively. Results After exclusion of patients with syndromal congenital diseases (n = 8) and lost to follow‐up (n = 10), the data of 53 children were included. The mean (SD) total motor function impairment z‐score at 5 years of age was −0.66 (0.99), significantly below normal (p