title: Relationship between head growth and neurodevelopmental outcome of Malaysian very low birthweight infants during the 1st year of life.
abstract: A prospective study was carried out to (i) compare head growth patterns of 103 very low birthweight (VLBW, < 1500 g) Malaysian infants and 98 normal birthweight (NBW, 2500- < 4500 g) controls during the 1st year of life; and (ii) examine the relationship between neurodevelopmental outcome at 1 year of age and occipito-frontal head circumferences (OFC) at birth and at 1 year of age in VLBW babies. When compared with those of NBW infants at birth, mid-infancy and 1 year of age, the mean OFC ratios (observed/expected OFC at 50th percentile) of VLBW infants were significantly lower (p < 0.001). Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) VLBW babies had significantly lower mean OFC ratios than their appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) VLBW counterparts at birth (p < 0.001), but this difference was no longer seen at mid-infancy or at 1 year of age. Logistic regression analysis showed that abnormal late neonatal cranial ultrasound findings (odds ratio 8.5, 95% confidence interval 4.12-22.07; p < 0.001) and each additional day of oxygen therapy (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.00-4.45; p = 0.045) were significant risk factors associated with neurodevelopmental disability at 1 year of age, while mean OFC ratios at birth or at 1 year of age were not. Poor postnatal head growth per se did not predict disability, but probably reflected the consequences of "brain injury" as evidenced by abnormal brain scans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Boo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chandran
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Zamratol
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Teoh
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nyein
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D004453:Echoencephalography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006257:Head / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000254:growth & development; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors