The improved survival rates in the 1990s occurred with an increased risk of significant neurodevelopmental impairment. Prospective parents of extremely low birth weight infants should be advised of this substantial risk, to facilitate decision-making in the delivery room.

The predictive validity of a subnormal MDI for cognitive function at school age is poor but better for ELBW children who have neurosensory impairments. We are concerned that decisions to provide intensive care for ELBW infants in the delivery room might be biased by reported high rates of cognitive impairments based on the use and presumptive validity of the BSID II MDI.

Objective: To examine the neurosensory and cognitive status of extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW; Ͻ1000 g) children born from January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1995, and to identify the significant predictors of outcome.Design: An inception cohort of ELBW infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and observed to 20 months' corrected age.Setting: A tertiary level urban NICU and follow-up clinic at a university hospital.Population: Of 333 ELBW infants without major congenital malformations admitted to the NICU, 241 (72%) survived to 20 months' corrected age. We studied 221 children (92%) at a mean of 20 months' corrected age. The mean birth weight was 813 g; mean gestational age, 26.4 weeks.Main Outcome Measures: Assessments of cognitive and neurosensory development.Results: Major neurosensory abnormality was present in 54 children (24%), including 33 (15%) with cerebral palsy, 20 (9%) with deafness, and 2 (1%) with blindness. The mean (± SD) Bayley Mental Developmental Index (MDI) score was 74.7 ± 17. Ninety-two children (42%) had a subnormal MDI score (Ͻ70). Neurodevelopmental impairment (neurosensory abnormality and/or MDI score Ͻ70) was present in 105 children (48%). Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis that considered sex, social risk, birth weight, and neonatal risk factors revealed significant predictors of a subnormal MDI score to be male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-4.92), social risk (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.09-2.00), and chronic lung disease (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.20-3.94). Predictors of neurologic abnormality were a severely abnormal finding on cerebral ultrasound (OR, 8.09; 95% CI,) and chronic lung disease (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.12-5.40); predictors of deafness were male sex (OR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.02-7.62), sepsis (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.05-9.48), and jaundice (maximal bilirubin level, Ͼ171 µmol/L [Ͼ10 mg/dL]) (OR, 4.80; 95% CI, 1.46-15.73). Conclusion:There is an urgent need for research into the etiology and prevention of neonatal morbidity. Med. 2000;154:725-731 Arch Pediatr Adolesc

Since 2000, neurodevelopmental impairment has decreased among extremely low birth weight infants. A variety of perinatal and neonatal factors were associated with the improved outcomes including increased antenatal steroid use and cesarean section delivery, as well as decreased sepsis, severe cranial ultrasound abnormalities, and postnatal steroid use despite no change in the rate of chronic lung disease.

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Both antenatal and neonatal risk factors contribute to the development of severe neurologic impairment, including cerebral palsy among VLBW children. Because prevention of chorioamnionitis may not be feasible in the near future, attempts to decrease neonatal risk factors such as severe cranial ultrasound abnormalities and sepsis may be most feasible at this time.

Neurosensory outcomes of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia improved during 2000 to 2003 but overall neurodevelopmental outcomes did not change.

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