title: Poor repertoire General Movements predict some aspects of development outcome at 2 years in very preterm infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Observation of the quality of endogenously generated "General Movements" has been proved to be a reliable and sensitive tool in the assessment of fragile neonates. The absence of fidgety movements at 2-4 months post-term is highly predictive of Cerebral Palsy. On the contrary, the presence of a poor repertoire pattern during the writhing period is not reliable in predicting motor or neurobehavioral disorders at any stage of development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine if the presence of a PR pattern at 1 month post-term was associated with lower neurodevelopmental quotients at 2 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  General Movements evaluation at 1 and 3 months and the Griffiths Scales of Mental Development at 2 years were administered to a sample of very preterm infants. Infants were divided into two groups: poor repertoire pattern group and normal pattern group. Student's t Test and Chi squared test and ANOVA were used to compare neonatal variables and results between the two groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  79 very preterm infants (birthweight≤1500 g or gestational age≤32 weeks), born January 2003 to December 2006 who had a follow-up at 2 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Griffiths developmental quotient at 2 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Poor Repertoire group had lower Gestational Age, lower Birth Weight, lower Apgar scores at birth and lower Developmental Quotient at 2 years. Eye and Hand Coordination (subscale D) was the domain mostly responsible for such a difference. Quality of fidgety movements (normal or abnormal fidgety) at 3 months did not show any correlation with outcome measures at 2 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of a PR pattern at 1 month post-term seems to predict lower neurodevelopmental scores at 2 years especially in the domain of eye and hand coordination. Longer follow-up is necessary in order to ascertain if such difference will continue to persist at older ages.
authors: Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, S. Croce and Carle Hospital, Cuneo, Italy. beccaria.e@ospedale.cuneo.it
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Beccaria
authors: Manuela
authors: M
authors: Martino
authors: Eleonora
authors: E
authors: Briatore
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Podestà
authors: Giulia
authors: G
authors: Pomero
authors: Rocco
authors: R
authors: Micciolo
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Espa
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Calzolari
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D047928:Premature Birth; D011597:Psychomotor Performance