title: Predictive role of early milestones-related psychomotor profiles and long-term neurodevelopmental pitfalls in preterm infants.
abstract: Developmental milestones are useful signposts developed to assess the pace and the trajectory of maturation occurring during specific time-windows called critical periods. The predictive role of their clinical assessment in premature infants is challenging, however, it actually represents an easy and reliable tool at follow-up.
  
  
  
  Relying on a milestone-based neurological examination, we aimed to detect the interdependence between time of achievement of each milestone with long-term neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The influence of pre-perinatal events was also considered.
  
  
  
  Two-hundred-eighty patients (53.2% M) were serially assessed by classic neurological examination during the first 18months and subsequently evaluated by Griffiths Developmental Mental Scale. Children were sorted by ranges of gestational age and compared according to their different profiles.
  
  
  
  The Extremely PreTerms appeared to have a globally delayed development with subsequent attentional and behavioral troubles. Differently, the older peers, from Moderately to Full Term ones, although did not show significant differences in achievement of gross motor skills, had a stable delay of visual and social skills across the age ranges. This gap was not evidenced at the long-term evaluation, except for the Extremely PreTerm children. Pre-perinatal factors played a significant role on short and long term neurodevelopmental outcome.
  
  
  
  Early assessed classic neurological examination might address neurodevelopmental trajectories in PreTerm children in which visual and social skills appear to be the mostly affected. It remains the easiest and most reliable tool of evaluation throughout the follow-up programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: gdirosa@unime.it.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Rosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cavallaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Economical, Business and Environmental Sciences and Quantitative Methods, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alibrandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Neonatal Intensive Care, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marseglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamberti
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giaimo
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicotera
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonsignore
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology of the Adult and Developmental Age, Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gagliano
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance
keywords: Developmental milestones; Gestational age; Prematurity; Trajectories