[Neurological development of very low birth weight infants (<1,501 gr) at two ears of age]

The aim of this study is to analyse different aspects of the psychomotor development, during the first two years of the life, of 56 very low birth weight newborns (less of 1.501 g) that had completed a follow-up program. Of the results we have got, the most important are the following: 4 observations (7%) presented severe sequelae motor disability in a tetraparesis with sensorial defects in 3 of them and behavior disturbance (psychosis) with visual defect in the rest. Three observations (5.3%) presented moderate sequelae: all of them with motor disability (hemi- or tetraparesis) and cognitive deficiency. Me have to point out that in the two groups described above, the pathological signs were detected before the age of 6 months. Nine observations (16%) presented mild sequelae dominating language delayed (7% of whole sample) and transient abnormalities in 7 of them (12.5%). In the subgroup of small for gestational age newborns (21 observations), 28.5% presented mild sequelae, 14% transient abnormalities and no one presented severe or moderate sequelae. Although a long term follow-up is necessary in order to detect learning, cognitive, or behavior disturbances, that can just become evident later, we think that the attention of the deviations of the normality during the two first years of the life, would warn about possible future disturbances.