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Development of very low birth weight infants: A regional study of 371 survivors

  • Neuropediatrics
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Abstract

We re-examined 371 infants with birth weights less than 1501 g at a corrected age of 18–20 months. This sample amounted to 91% of such infants admitted to one of the six neonatal intensive care units in Hamburg between July 1983 and 1986. The neurological examination and a developmental evaluation using the Griffith Developmental Scale revealed higher rates of abnormalities than in most other studies. Fifty-five children (14.8%) suffered from cerebral palsy, classified in 45 as spastic diplegia, in 5 as spastic tetraplegia, in 1 as spastic hemiplegia and in 4 as dystonia. Of the children, 41 (11%) showed minor neurological deviations (hyperactivity, clumsiness, intention tremor). The development of 30 children (8%) without neurological abnormalities was moderately retarded (DQ 80-89, corrected for gestational age [GA]). Nineteen children (5%) were severely retarded (DQ<80, corrected for GA) and four children (1.5%) were blind due to retrolental fibroplasia. An isolated delay of speech development was found in 5 children. Seventy children (18.9%) had a major and 87 children (23.5%) a minor handicap.

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Abbreviations

DQ:

developmental quotient

GA:

gestational age

VLBW:

very low birth weight

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Hamburg, Martinistrasse 52, W-2000, Hamburg, Germany

    N. Veelken, K. Stollhoff & M. Claussen

Authors
  1. N. Veelken
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  2. K. Stollhoff
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  3. M. Claussen
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Veelken, N., Stollhoff, K. & Claussen, M. Development of very low birth weight infants: A regional study of 371 survivors. Eur J Pediatr 150, 815–820 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02026720

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02026720

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