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Is paediatric assessment of motor development of very preterm and low‐birthweight children appropriate?
Author(s) -
Kleine Martin J. K.,
Sanden Maria W. G. Nijhuis,
Ouden A. Lya
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1080/08035250500525301
Subject(s) - medicine , pediatrics , movement assessment , neurological examination , motor skill , clinical judgement , physical examination , low birth weight , intensive care medicine , psychiatry , pregnancy , surgery , biology , genetics
Aim : To determine whether paediatricians that examine, in regular clinical practice, very preterm and very‐low‐birthweight children at 5 y of age detect neurological impairments and functional motor problems in these children. Methods : We compared a paediatric judgement, a standardized neurological examination (Touwen examination) and a screening of motor development (Denver Developmental Screening Test; DDST) with the Movement ABC in 396 5‐y‐old very preterm and low‐birthweight children. Results : The Movement ABC detected clinically important motor disorders in 20.5% and borderline disturbances in 22.5% of the children. Compared to the Movement ABC, the sensitivity of the paediatric judgement was 0.19, Touwen examination 0.62 and DDST 0.52; the negative predictive values were 0.61, 0.74 and 0.69, respectively. Conclusion : Paediatric assessment of motor development in 5‐y‐old very preterm and low‐birthweight children generally is not sensitive enough to detect functional motor problems. The Movement ABC should be added to the assessment of the motor development of very preterm and low‐birthweight children at 5 y of age.