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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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School-aged neurodevelopmental outcomes for children born extremely preterm

Lex W Doyle1,2,3,4, Alicia Spittle2,5, Peter J Anderson2,6

  • 1Neonatal Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia lwd@unimelb.edu.au.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|May 26, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Children born extremely preterm (EP) face significant long-term challenges, including intellectual impairment and poorer quality of life. Continued research is vital to improve outcomes for these vulnerable children.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal research
  • Developmental pediatrics
  • Longitudinal child health studies

Background:

  • Improved survival rates for extremely preterm (EP) infants (<28 weeks' gestation) necessitate focus on long-term outcomes.
  • School-age assessments are crucial for understanding lifelong functioning in EP survivors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the long-term functional and quality-of-life outcomes for children born extremely preterm.
  • To identify persistent challenges faced by EP survivors at school age.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of school-aged children born extremely preterm versus term-born controls.
  • Assessment of intellectual, executive, academic, motor function, and health-related quality of life.

Main Results:

  • Extremely preterm children exhibit significantly higher rates of intellectual impairment.
  • Poorer executive, academic, and motor functions are prevalent in EP survivors.
  • Neurodevelopmental disabilities and reduced health-related quality of life are common in EP children.

Conclusions:

  • Adverse outcomes for extremely preterm children remain unacceptably high.
  • Some outcomes may be worsening over time, highlighting an urgent need for intervention.
  • New strategies targeting prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods are a priority to improve long-term functioning and quality of life.

Keywords:
epidemiologyneonatology

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