The Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program led to long-term developmental improvements in the intervention group, especially in infants with BPD.

In this study, we found satisfactory to good clinimetric characteristics of the IBA in very preterm born infants.

Results 1310 infants were randomised, median gestation 28.0w, median birthweight 1010g and median age starting the intervention 44 h. No adverse events related to the intervention were reported.Conclusions This intervention was not associated with any advantage in this population of babies. This result highlights the need to assess the efficacy of different probiotic strains and challenges the validity of combining trials using different probiotic interventions in meta-analyses. Background Cross-sectional analyses at 6, 12, 24 months and 5.5 years, revealed positive intervention effects on child development in VLBW infants who were supported by the Infant Behavioural Assessment and Intervention Program© (IBAIP) as comparing to standard follow-up care. Longitudinal effects were not analysed yet. AIM To investigate the longitudinal effects of the IBAIP in VLBW infants on cognitive and motor development. Methods In a RCT, 86 VLBW infants received the IBAIP until 6 months CA, 90 VLBW infants received standard care. At 6, 12, and 24 months CA, cognitive and motor development were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. At 5.5 years CA the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children were used. Longitudinal data were analysed with linear mixed models in total group and three subgroups, using Z-scores generated from raw cognitive and motor scores. Results A significant intervention effect (0.4SD) on motor development was found (p = 0.006). On cognitive development, a non-significant intervention effect over time was found (p = 0.063). In children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) significant intervention effects were found for both cognitive (effect=0.7SD; p = 0.019) and motor (effect=0.9SD; p = 0.026) outcome. Maternal education hardly influenced intervention effects over time, but in children with combined biological and social risks a longitudinal intervention effect of 0.8SD was found on cognitive development (p = 0.044). Conclusion The IBAIP leads to improved motor development in VLBW infants, and in infants with BPD also to improved cognitive development, over a five years period after the intervention. O-009

Aims To compare very low birth weight (VLBW) children's performance on attention measurements at preschool age to term-born peers, and to assess associated risk factors. Methods Attention was assessed in 151 VLBW preschoolers and 41 term-born peers at 44 months of corrected age, using the Visual Attention task of the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, and the Gift Delay task. Parents completed the Attention Problems domain of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL-AP), the Inhibit domain of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (preschool version), and the Inattention/Distractibility scale of the Sensory Profile. The investigator completed the Attention domain of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers' Behavior During Testing (BDT-AD). Potential perinatal and socio-demographic risk factors for attention problems were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Results Compared with term-born peers, VLBW children scored worse on five out of six attention measurements and had significantly more abnormal scores on the CBCL-AP and BDT-AD. Analyses of BDT-AD indicate that VLBW children mostly scored abnormally on the items regarding attention maintenance. VLBW children were at higher risk for attention problems according to a composite score of significant attention problems (OR 4.6, 95% CI: 1.7-12.4). Risk factors for attention problems were having a mother born abroad (OR 3.5, CI: 1.7-7.2) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (OR 2.5, CI: 1.0-6.0). Conclusions At the time of school entry, VLBW children have more difficulty maintaining attention than their term-born peers. Both social and biological risk factors were predictive of attention problems. Using the CBCL-AP and BDT-AD may lead to timely intervention. Introduction Recent meta-analytic findings show impaired visual perceptive performance for VLBW children. Little is known about relationships between visual sensory and visual perceptive processes in VLBW children. Methods VLBW children (n=121) and age matched controls (n=50) were assessed using tests for oculomotor functioning (eye position, motility, convergence, nystagmus and torticollis), visual sensory functions (visual acuity, visual field, contrast sensitivity, color perception and stereovision) and visual perceptive abilities (form and motion coherence, Position in Space, Figure- VISUAL SENSORY AND PERCEPTIVE FUNCTIONS IN VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT (VLBW) PRESCHOOLERS