Febrile respiratory infections in children: assessment of clinical severity and cerebral vulnerability using the NGCS-RS SCALE

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections in children are accompanied by systemic inflammatory, metabolic, and microcirculatory disturbances that may affect the developing brain even without focal neurological symptoms. During critical neurodevelopmental stages, brain function depends on stable oxygenation, perfusion, and energy metabolism, increasing the vulnerability of the neuro-glio-capillary system to combined inflammatory and hypoxic stress. The aim of this study was to substantiate a systemic model of cerebral stability, identify threshold markers of its alteration, and develop the NeuroGlio-Capillary System Risk Score (NGCS-RS) for early detection of cerebral vulnerability.