One-year morbidity in very premature infants: prognostic value of duration of pregnancy, birthweight and neonatal morbidity.
Morbidity in the first year of life of 120 infants, born before the 34th wk of pregnancy, was studied in relationship to both duration of pregnancy and birthweight. Moreover, the interrelationships of morbidity in three time-periods (first-hour, first 28 days and first year after delivery) were studied. The major handicap rate at one year was 5%, without major handicaps in infants born before 29 wk or weighing less than 1250 g. This finding seems to justify intensive treatment of even the youngest and smallest infants. Significantly more morbidity in the first 28 days of life was found when intervention within the first hour after delivery was necessary, indicating that morbidity in the first hour after delivery may be a prognostic bad sign for morbidity in the first 28 days of life. However, no significant differences in handicap rates at one year of age were found in infants with and without morbidity in the first hour or in the first 28 days. This indicates that early morbidity will not necessarily be followed by morbidity in later life, but, on the other hand, absence of early morbidity does not preclude handicaps later on.
D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology; D003655:Decerebrate State / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011379:Prognosis; D012151:Resuscitation; D013997:Time Factors