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Published on: August 25, 2014
Unimpaired outcomes for extremely low birth weight infants at 18 to 22 months
Regina A Gargus1, Betty R Vohr, Jon E Tyson
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Insights
Only 16% of extremely low birth weight infants survived without impairment at 18 months. Survival rates increased with birth weight, with nearly 24% of infants between 901-1000g achieving unimpaired status.
Area of Science:
- Neonatalogy
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Perinatal Epidemiology
Background:
- Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (<1000g) face significant risks for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Assessing the proportion of ELBW survivors who are unimpaired is crucial for understanding long-term prognosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the rate of unimpaired survival among extremely low birth weight live births at 18 to 22 months corrected age.
- To identify factors associated with unimpaired outcomes in this vulnerable population.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 5250 (86%) ELBW infants (
- Unimpaired status was defined by specific developmental scores (Bayley Scales II >=85), normal neurologic exams, and absence of major functional deficits (vision, hearing, swallowing, walking).
Main Results:
- Only 16% (850/5250) of ELBW infants survived without impairment.
- Unimpaired survival rates ranged from <1% for infants
- Infant factors (female gender, higher birth weight, singleton birth) predicted unimpaired survival, accounting for 25.3% of variance.
Conclusions:
- Unimpaired survival in ELBW infants is low, but significantly improves with increasing birth weight.
- Factors such as female gender, singleton birth, higher birth weight, absence of neonatal morbidities, private health insurance, and white race are associated with better unimpaired outcomes.
Objective:
The goal was to identify, among extremely low birth weight (
Methods:
Unimpaired outcome was defined as Bayley Scales of Infant Development II scores of >or=85, normal neurologic examination findings, and normal vision, hearing, swallowing, and walking. Outcomes were determined for 5250 (86%) of 6090 extremely low birth weight inborn infants.
Results:
Of the 5250 infants whose outcomes were known at 18 months, 850 (16%) were unimpaired, 1153 (22%) had mild impairments, 1147 (22%) had moderate/severe neurodevelopmental impairments, and 2100 (40%) had died. Unimpaired survival rates varied according to birth weight, from <1% for infants
Conclusions:
Although <1% of live-born infants of
