STORCH Brazil: multicenter cohort study protocol to investigate neurodevelopmental paths and functioning in infants exposed to STORCH in Brazil
Bibliographic record
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The acronym STORCH encompasses gestational infections that can lead to congenital syndromes or adverse neurological outcomes in children. In Brazil and worldwide, there has been an alarming increase in confirmed cases of STORCH in recent years. However, no study has examined the impact of STORCH on infants' neurodevelopmental outcomes in a large, multi-center cohort, recruiting a substantial number of participants, with analysis across a broad set of variables and ages and based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between the exposure to classic STORCH (syphilis, toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus infection, and herpes simplex) on components of functioning in infants from 3 to 24 months old in Brazil. METHODS: We propose a multi-center prospective cohort study that includes data collection in at least one city from each geographical region of Brazil. A proposed total sample size of 296 infants will be included at 3 months (12-15 weeks post term). They will be equitably divided into: (a) an exposed group (n = 148), consisting of those diagnosed with any congenital STORCH infection or whose mothers experienced prenatal STORCH infection; (b) an unexposed group (n = 148). Assessments are carried out longitudinally at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Assessment tools include Prechtl's General Movements Assessment, Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination, Alberta Infant Motor Scale; Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development; Survey of Well-being of Young Children; Autism Observational Scale for Infants; Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers; Child Behavior Checklist; and Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure. Descriptive analyses, including the calculation of relative risk, and logistic regressions will be conducted to examine the association between gestational exposure to STORCH agents and infants' responses/outcomes. DISCUSSION: The STORCH Brazil study will investigate the impact of STORCH exposure on functioning, including neurodevelopmental trajectories, in infants during their first two years, aligning with the ICF framework. This will enhance understanding of the characteristics and needs of STORCH-exposed infants, aiding therapists in making informed clinical decisions. The results might support public policies tailored to this population. Findings will be disseminated to ensure knowledge translation. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.008 | 0.008 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.013 | 0.003 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".