RESUMO
Background: Preterm infants with pre- or postnatal growth restriction may have an additional risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Whereas reduced cognitive ability and behavioral problems have consistently been associated with prematurity, a more comprehensive evaluation is necessary to identify those preterm infants who are at increased risk for difficulties in school performance. This study evaluated the association between extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and the need for special education and determined if there is an additional risk for the need for special education among small for gestational age (SGA) children. Methods: This is a single-center cohort study including singleton children born below 30 weeks' gestation between 1990 and 2011 and followed into 2019. ELBW + was defined as a birth weight below 1,000 g, which was compared to ELBW-. Within all ELBW+ children, SGA+ was defined as a birth weight <10th percentile according to Fenton, which was compared to SGA-. The dichotomous outcome measurement was the need for special education at 8 years of age or not, reflecting if the children required a special educational setting designed to accommodate educational, behavioral, and/or medical needs. Results: In total, 609 children were eligible for follow-up, of whom 390 (64%) children were assessed at 8 years. Of these, 56 (14%) children needed special education, most often determined by cognitive deficiency (43%), behavioral problems (29%), or both (16%). Among the 191 ELBW+ children, 35 (18%) attended special education, compared to 21 (11%) among ELBW- children (p-value 0.041). A decreasing risk for the need for special education was found from 25% in ELBW+/SGA+ children to 16% in ELBW+/SGA- children and 11% in ELBW-/SGA- children (p-value 0.025). Multivariable logistic regression showed an odds ratio of 2.88 (95% CI 1.20-6.78) for ELBW+/SGA+ children vs. ELBW-/SGA- children for the need for special education. Conclusions: This study showed that ELBW children are at increased risk for the need for special education compared to non-ELBW children. In addition, children that are both ELBW and SGA do have the highest risk for the need for special education. Classifying children as ELBW and SGA can be useful in follow-up for identifying preterm children with an additional risk for adverse long-term outcome.
RESUMO
Aim: Long-term outcome data in preterm children is often limited to cross-sectional measurement of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at the corrected age of 24-36 months. However, impairments may only become overt during childhood or resolve with time, and individual trajectories in outcome over time may vary. The primary aim of this study was to describe NDI in very preterm born children at three subsequent ages of 2, 5, and 8 years of age. As a secondary aim, a longitudinal analysis was performed on the individual longitudinal trajectories in NDI from 2 to 8 years of age. Methods: Single-center prospective cohort study including children born between 1990 and 2011 below 30 weeks' gestation and followed into 2019. The outcome measurement was NDI assessed at 2, 5, and 8 years of age. NDI is a composite score that includes cognitive, neurological, visual, and auditory functions, in which problems were categorized as none, mild, moderate, or severe. Cognitive function measured as total DQ/IQ score was assessed by standardized psychometric tests. Neurological, visual, and auditory functions were assessed by the neonatologist. Results: In total, 921 children were eligible for follow-up, of whom 726 (79%) children were assessed. No NDI was seen in 54, 54, and 62%, mild NDI was seen in 31, 36, and 30%, and moderate-to-severe NDI was seen in 15, 9.2, and 8.6% of the children at 2, 5, and 8 years, respectively. From 2 to 8 years, 63% of the children remained in the same NDI category, 20% of the children improved to a better NDI category, and 17% deteriorated toward a worse NDI category. No differences were found in baseline characteristics of infants that improved or deteriorated. Extreme prematurity, male gender and low parental education were associated with worse NDI status at all time points. Although we observed considerable individual variation over time in NDI status, the course of the trajectories in NDI were not associated with gestation, gender, and parental education. Conclusions: Continued follow-up until school life is essential in order to provide optimal and individually focused referrals and care when needed.