title: School entry age outcomes for infants with birth weight ≤ 800 grams.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the mortality and long-term morbidity rates of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a longitudinal cohort study of all admissions born between 1983 and 2003 with birth weight ≤ 800 g at a single tertiary NICU. Trends in survival and neurodevelopmental outcome rates at school entry in four 5-year epochs were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 917 admissions, 552 survived to NICU discharge, with significantly increasing survival rates from 46% in epoch 1 to 71% in epoch 4 (P < .0001). Although the overall impairment rate of 30% did not change, the pattern of impairments did. Cognitive (P = .017) and hearing (P = .014) impairment rates increased. Visual impairment rates decreased (P = .042), with a trend toward decreasing cerebral palsy from 20% to 12% (P = .061).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Improved survival of low birth weight preterm infants has been associated with different types of neurodevelopmental impairments, including increased cognitive impairment rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. asynnes@cw.bc.ca
authors.forename: Anne R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Synnes
authors.forename: Shelagh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anson
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arkesteijn
authors.forename: Arsalan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Grunau
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Whitfield
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015996:Survival Rate