Objective: To establish the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities among premature infants born in western Poland.
Study design: From 1999 to 2003, 640 extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and 777 very low birth weight (VLBW) infants were admitted to the tertiary care center in Poland. Discharged home were 302 and 671 of them, respectively. At 2 years corrected age, 165 ELBW and 285 VLBW children were diagnosed with neurosensory abnormality including cerebral palsy (CP) and evaluated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development II.
Result: Mental developmental index (MDI) score <70 was recorded in 104 children (23.1%). There were 75 (16.7%) cases of CP, 8 (1.7%) deafness/hearing loss, 22 (4.8%) blindness and 14 (3.1%) of epilepsy. Patients with abnormal neurosensory status had significantly lower MDI compared with those with normal development (83.8±9 vs 54.7±10). Severe intraventricular haemorrhage, periventricular leucomalacia, ventricular dilatation and hydrocephalus were the most important risk factors for neurologic abnormality.
Conclusion: Severe disability is more common among ELBW compared with VLBW infants and remains a major challenge for health-care providers.