premature infants are more susceptible to motor development , behavior and academic performance impairment when compared to term infants .
OBJECTIVES to examine and synthesize the available knowledge in the literature about the effects of preterm birth on the development of school-age children .
Neonatal hydrocortisone treatment: neurodevelopmental outcome and MRI at school age in preterm-born children.
OBJECTIVE To investigate neurodevelopment at school age in preterm infants treated with hydrocortisone for bronchopulmonary dysplasia ( BPD ) in the neonatal period . STUDY DESIGN Preterm infants ( n = 226 ; gestational age < or = 32 weeks and /or body weight < or = 1500 grams ) performed subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised , the Visual Motor Integration test , a 15-Word Memory Test and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children at school age . Conventional MRI of the brain was obtained . Sixty-two children who received hydrocortisone for BPD ( starting dose , 5 mg/kg/day ; median duration , 27.5 days ) were compared with 164 nontreated neonates . RESULTS Hydrocortisone-treated infants were younger , lighter , and sicker than their non-steroid-treated counterparts . Adjustments for gestational age , body weight , sex , mechanical ventilation , and small for gestational age were made . Adjusted mean Intelligence Quotient , Visual Motor Integration test , and memory test results were the same in the hydrocortisone-treated group and the non-steroid-treated group ( 99 versus 101 , P = .62 ; 97 versus 99 , P = .49 , 7.9 versus 7.5 , P = .42 , respectively ) . Motor function and incidence of cerebral palsy in both groups was not different ( 11 % versus 7 % , P = .97 ) . Occurrence of brain lesions on MRI was similar for the two groups . CONCLUSIONS Neonatal hydrocortisone treatment for BPD had no long-term effects on neurodevelopment
premature infants are more susceptible to motor development , behavior and academic performance impairment when compared to term infants .
OBJECTIVES to examine and synthesize the available knowledge in the literature about the effects of preterm birth on the development of school-age children .