Developmental Assessment of Infants Born Preterm: Comparison Between the Chronological and Corrected Ages

Abstract

Objective: To compare the global and motor development of infants born preterm, regarding the performance in the chronological age and corrected age for prematurity. Methods: This is a crosssectional study. The sample was comprised of 182 preterm infants (< 37 weeks of gestational age) and low birth weight (< 2,500 grams) belonging to the following age groups: 2-4 months (n = 182), 4-6 months (n = 146), and 6-8 months (n = 112). The global development was assessed through the Denver-II test in the three age groups, and the motor development was assessed through the Test of Infant Motor Performance in 2-4 months group and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale in 4-6 and 6-8 months group. The infants' performance classifications in the chronological and corrected ages were compared through the McNemar's test. Results: The global and motor development was delayed in 75% to 91% of the infants, regarding the chronological age in all three age groups. Otherwise, concerning the corrected age for prematurity, the delayed performance was detected in 33% to 51% of the infants in all three age groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The development assessments taking on the chronological age could overestimate risks and problems in the first year of age.

Predictive models of early motor development in preterm infants: a longitudinal-prospective study

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Desenvolvimento motor de gêmeos pré-termo: existem diferenças entre a ordem de nascimento?

“…O desenvolvimento motor dos bebês gemelares prétermo da amostra foi semelhante aos valores referenciais do padrão normativo da escala, sendo que a maioria dos gêmeos foi classificada como normal. Um fato que pode justificar tal resultado é que a amostra foi composta em sua maioria por prematuros moderados (31 a 36 semanas), sendo que a idade gestacional mínima foi de 30,6 semanas, e também por ter seguido a recomendação de um estudo de utilizar a idade corrigida para a avaliação dos bebês (13) .…”

Development of infants with a risk indicator for hearing loss associated to living environment

“…Recent studies on the cognitive, language and motor development, especially in the population of premature infants born with low weight, agree that these factors pose risks for child development, especially in the first years of life [17][18][19][20][21] . Yet in addition to these factors, Saccani, Valentini 22 emphasized the length of stay in the intensive care unit is inversely related to child development.…”