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Neurodevelopmental outcomes among extremely preterm infants 6.5 years after active perinatal care in Sweden

Serenius, Fredrik ; Ewald, Uwe ; Farooqi, Aijaz ; Fellman, Vineta LU orcid ; Hafström, Maria ; Hellgren, Kerstin ; Marsal, Karel LU ; Ohlin, Andreas ; Olhager, Elisabeth and Stjernqvist, Karin LU , et al. (2016) In JAMA Pediatrics 170(10). p.954-963
Abstract

IMPORTANCE Active perinatal care increases the rate of survival of extremely preterm infants, but there are concerns that improved survival might increase the rate of disabled survivors. OBJECTIVE To determine the neurodevelopmental outcomes of a national cohort of children 6.5 years of age who had been born extremely preterm (<27 weeks' gestational age) in Sweden. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based prospective cohort study of consecutively born extremely preterm infants. All of these infants were born in Sweden during the period from April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2007. Of 707 live-born extremely preterm infants, 486 (68.7%) survived to 6.5 years of age. These children were assessed and compared with matched controls... (More)

IMPORTANCE Active perinatal care increases the rate of survival of extremely preterm infants, but there are concerns that improved survival might increase the rate of disabled survivors. OBJECTIVE To determine the neurodevelopmental outcomes of a national cohort of children 6.5 years of age who had been born extremely preterm (<27 weeks' gestational age) in Sweden. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based prospective cohort study of consecutively born extremely preterm infants. All of these infants were born in Sweden during the period from April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2007. Of 707 live-born extremely preterm infants, 486 (68.7%) survived to 6.5 years of age. These children were assessed and compared with matched controls who had been born at term. Comparison estimates were adjusted for demographic differences. Assessments ended in February 2014, and analysis started thereafter. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Cognitive abilitywas measured with the fourth edition of theWechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), and the mean (SD) scores of the children who had been born extremely preterm were compared with those of the controls. Clinical examinations and parental questionnaires were used for diagnosis of cerebral palsy, hearing and vision impairments, and cognition for the children who were not assessed with the WISC-IV. RESULTS Of 486 eligible infants who were born extremely preterm, 441 (90.7%) were assessed at 6.5 years of age (59 by medical record review only) alongside 371 controls. The adjusted mean (SD) full-scale WISC-IV score was 14.2 (95%CI, 12.1-16.3) points lower for children who had been born extremely preterm than for controls. Cognitive disability was moderate for 18.8% of extremely preterm children and 2.2%of controls (P < .001), and it was severe for 11.1% of extremely preterm children and 0.3%of controls (P < .001). Cerebral palsy was observed in 9.5%of extremely preterm children and 0.0%of controls (P < .001), blindness was observed in 2.0%of extremely preterm children and 0.0%of controls (P < .001), and hearing impairment was observed in 2.1%of extremely preterm children and 0.5%of controls (P = .07). Overall, 36.1%(95%CI, 31.7%-40.6%) of extremely preterm children had no disability, 30.4%(95%CI 26.3%-34.8%) had mild disability, 20.2%(95%CI, 16.6%-24.2%) had moderate disability, and 13.4%(95%CI, 10.5%-16.9%) had severe disability. For extremely preterm children, moderate or severe overall disability decreased with gestational age at birth (adjusted odds ratio per week, 0.65 [95%CI, 0.54-0.79]; P < .001) and increased from 26.6%to 33.5%(P = .01) for children assessed both at 2.5 and 6.5 years. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Of the 441 extremely preterm infants who had received active perinatal care, 293 (66.4%) had no or mild disability at 6.5 years; of the 371 controls, 11 (3.0%) had moderate or severe disability. Disability rates at 6.5 years increased relative to the rates at 2.5 years. Results are relevant for health care professionals and planners, and for clinicians counseling families facing extremely preterm births.

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Contribution to journal
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published
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in
JAMA Pediatrics
volume
170
issue
10
pages
10 pages
publisher
American Medical Association
external identifiers
  • pmid:27479919
  • wos:000385643000014
  • scopus:84996566047
ISSN
2168-6203
DOI
10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1210
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
531c54b5-3c44-47f8-8d02-68d25f233c20
date added to LUP
2016-12-12 14:20:30
date last changed
2024-04-19 15:19:03
@article{531c54b5-3c44-47f8-8d02-68d25f233c20,
  abstract     = {{<p>IMPORTANCE Active perinatal care increases the rate of survival of extremely preterm infants, but there are concerns that improved survival might increase the rate of disabled survivors. OBJECTIVE To determine the neurodevelopmental outcomes of a national cohort of children 6.5 years of age who had been born extremely preterm (&lt;27 weeks' gestational age) in Sweden. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based prospective cohort study of consecutively born extremely preterm infants. All of these infants were born in Sweden during the period from April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2007. Of 707 live-born extremely preterm infants, 486 (68.7%) survived to 6.5 years of age. These children were assessed and compared with matched controls who had been born at term. Comparison estimates were adjusted for demographic differences. Assessments ended in February 2014, and analysis started thereafter. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Cognitive abilitywas measured with the fourth edition of theWechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), and the mean (SD) scores of the children who had been born extremely preterm were compared with those of the controls. Clinical examinations and parental questionnaires were used for diagnosis of cerebral palsy, hearing and vision impairments, and cognition for the children who were not assessed with the WISC-IV. RESULTS Of 486 eligible infants who were born extremely preterm, 441 (90.7%) were assessed at 6.5 years of age (59 by medical record review only) alongside 371 controls. The adjusted mean (SD) full-scale WISC-IV score was 14.2 (95%CI, 12.1-16.3) points lower for children who had been born extremely preterm than for controls. Cognitive disability was moderate for 18.8% of extremely preterm children and 2.2%of controls (P &lt; .001), and it was severe for 11.1% of extremely preterm children and 0.3%of controls (P &lt; .001). Cerebral palsy was observed in 9.5%of extremely preterm children and 0.0%of controls (P &lt; .001), blindness was observed in 2.0%of extremely preterm children and 0.0%of controls (P &lt; .001), and hearing impairment was observed in 2.1%of extremely preterm children and 0.5%of controls (P = .07). Overall, 36.1%(95%CI, 31.7%-40.6%) of extremely preterm children had no disability, 30.4%(95%CI 26.3%-34.8%) had mild disability, 20.2%(95%CI, 16.6%-24.2%) had moderate disability, and 13.4%(95%CI, 10.5%-16.9%) had severe disability. For extremely preterm children, moderate or severe overall disability decreased with gestational age at birth (adjusted odds ratio per week, 0.65 [95%CI, 0.54-0.79]; P &lt; .001) and increased from 26.6%to 33.5%(P = .01) for children assessed both at 2.5 and 6.5 years. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Of the 441 extremely preterm infants who had received active perinatal care, 293 (66.4%) had no or mild disability at 6.5 years; of the 371 controls, 11 (3.0%) had moderate or severe disability. Disability rates at 6.5 years increased relative to the rates at 2.5 years. Results are relevant for health care professionals and planners, and for clinicians counseling families facing extremely preterm births.</p>}},
  author       = {{Serenius, Fredrik and Ewald, Uwe and Farooqi, Aijaz and Fellman, Vineta and Hafström, Maria and Hellgren, Kerstin and Marsal, Karel and Ohlin, Andreas and Olhager, Elisabeth and Stjernqvist, Karin and Strömberg, Bo and Adén, Ulrika and Källén, Karin}},
  issn         = {{2168-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{10}},
  pages        = {{954--963}},
  publisher    = {{American Medical Association}},
  series       = {{JAMA Pediatrics}},
  title        = {{Neurodevelopmental outcomes among extremely preterm infants 6.5 years after active perinatal care in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1210}},
  doi          = {{10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1210}},
  volume       = {{170}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}