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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Developmental outcome of very preterm babies using an assessment tool deliverable by health visitors
1Department of Neonatology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, Brighton BN2 5BE, UK. philip.amess@bsuh.nhs.uk
Insights
Health visitors can effectively screen very preterm infants for developmental delays. While severe delays were noted by 12 months, many infants showed mild to moderate delays by 24 months.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Neonatology
Background:
- Very preterm infants face increased risks of developmental challenges.
- Early identification of developmental delays is crucial for timely intervention.
- Health visitor-led screening offers a scalable approach to monitoring infant development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of a health visitor-delivered screening tool for assessing developmental outcomes in very preterm infants.
- To quantify the incidence and severity of developmental delays in this population at corrected ages of 12 and 24 months.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of infants born at <32 weeks gestation or <1500g was assessed.
- The Schedule of Growing Skills (SGS) developmental screening test was administered at 12 and 24 months corrected age.
- Developmental levels were categorized as normal or showing mild, moderate, or severe delay.
Main Results:
- At 12 months corrected age, 12% of infants exhibited severe developmental delay in at least one skill area.
- By 24 months corrected age, 9.1% of infants still had severe developmental delay, with only 3 showing severe global delay.
- Approximately one-third of infants presented with mild or moderate delays in hearing, language, social, or cognitive skills by 24 months.
Conclusions:
- Health visitor-administered developmental assessments are a viable method for tracking preterm infant outcomes.
- Severe developmental delays were identified by the 12-month assessment, primarily affecting motor and language skills.
- A significant proportion of very preterm infants experience mild to moderate developmental delays by 24 months corrected age.
Aim:
To assess the developmental outcome of very preterm infants using a developmental screening tool deliverable by health visitors.
Methods:
The study cohort consisted of preterm infants born at <32 weeks gestation or <1500g. Infants were assessed at 12 and 24 months corrected age using the Schedule of Growing Skills developmental screening test. Scores for skill areas were converted to developmental levels in months and graded as normal or mild, moderate or severe delay.
Results:
Of 101 infants assessed at 12 months, 12 (12%) had severe developmental delay (developmental level <6months) in one or more skill areas. At 24 months, severe developmental delay (developmental level <12 months) was found in 8 (9.1%) infants. Only 3 infants had severe global delay. However, approximately a third of infants showed mild or moderate delay in hearing and language, social or cognitive skill areas by 24 months.
Conclusion:
Developmental assessment undertaken by health visitors may be used to measure outcome in preterm infants. Severe developmental delay was at a level consistent with other follow-up studies of very preterm infants. Severe delay was identified by the 12-month check and was mainly in areas of motor function and language. High levels of mild to moderate developmental delay were identified at the 24-month assessment.
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