Uzma Afzal, Noreen Faiz, Ejaz Ahmad Khan, Munir Malik, Khawaja A Abbas.
Long term neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight infants.
Rawal Med J Jan ;34(2):207-9.

Objective: To determine the neurodevelopmental outcomes, functional limitations and medical conditions associated with very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight infants. Subjects and Methods The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and outpatient clinic follow up records of all newborns, treated at Shifa International Hospital from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004 were analyzed. Infants weighing less than 1500 grams were included in the study. Neonates with weight <1.5 Kg were termed as very low birth weight (VLBW) and those with weight <1000 gm were termed as extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Their follow up was at 3, 6, 9, 13 and 36 months. Results: Out of 163 neonates, 76 (46.6%) expired while 87 (53.4%) survived. Out of these 87 surviving neonates, 21 (24%) were lost to follow up. Out of the 66, 7 (10.6%) were ELBW and 59 (89.4%) VLBW babies. The most commonly encountered neurodevelopmental sequalae were developmental motor delay 22 (33%), cerebral palsy or spastic diplegia 11 (16.6%), recurrent acute respiratory infections (ARI)/asthma 16 (24.2%), speech defects 6 (9%), hearing defects 3 (4.5%) and seizures 4 (6%). Conclusion: Despite the marked improvement in survival rates in recent years for very preterm or tiny infants, neurodevelopmental morbidity remains high and has not kept pace with improvements in survival. In general, morbidity follows a gestational age gradient that is inversely related to the degree of prematurity.

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