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The long‐term neurodevelopmental outcome for very low birthweight (VLBW) infants with ‘dystonic’ signs at 4 months of age
Author(s) -
KHADILKAR V.,
TUDEHOPE D.,
BURNS Y.,
O'CALLAGHAN M.,
MOHAY H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1993.tb03011.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pediatrics , dystonia , incidence (geometry) , cerebral palsy , physical therapy , psychiatry , physics , optics
As very low birthweight (VLBW) infants are at a high risk of developmental handicap, it is important to establish predictors of long‐term adverse outcome at an early age so that early intervention can be instituted. Longitudinal neurodevelopmental assessments were performed in 107 VLBW infants at 1,4, 8 and 12 months corrected age. Eighteen were diagnosed as ‘dystonic’ at 4 months of age. This study compared the outcomes at 4 and 6 years for 15 of the 18 dystonic with 75 of the 89 non‐dystonic VLBW infants, respectively. At 9 years of age, nine dystonic and 54 non‐dystonic infants were assessed on the Rutter Behaviour Questionnaire. Dystonic children had a lower mean General Cognitive Index (GCI; P= 0.001) and a higher incidence of disability as measured by the Burns Neuro‐Sensori‐Motor Developmental Assessment Scale (P = 0.0005) and Kitchen disability grading (P = 0.001). Even if the minor neurological aberrations of the premature dystonia syndrome in VLBW infants abate by one year of life, these infants still constitute a high‐risk group for subsequent neurodevelopmental disability and therefore require close observation and probably early intervention.