Neonates of ≤1,250 Grams Birth Weight: Prospective Neurodevelopmental Evaluation During the First Year Post-term

Although the development of sophisticated neonatal intensive care has permitted the increasing survival of many small and critically ill preterm neonates, the incidence of major neurologic and developmental problems in this population has not significantly changed during the past decade,1-4 and much attention has been directed to the early identification of infants at risk. Motor handicaps and the delayed acquisition of milestones have been noted in the survivors of neonatal intensive care during the first several years of life.5,6 Learning difficulties and behavior problems may be later sequelae.7 Inasmuch as patients who have experienced intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) have been shown to have a greater risk for neurodevelopmental handicaps than their peers who have not experienced hemorrhage,8-11 we report the first year post-term data from a prospective study of 67 consecutive preterm neonates of ≤1,250 gm birth weight who were admitted to our Newborn Special Care Unit and survived >36 postnatal hours; data include computed tomographic (CT) and/or postmortem evaluations for the determination of the incidence of IVH and neurodevelopmental followup of surviving infants.