[Long-term results following premature birth]

Abstract

Along the second half of this century, survival rates of low birth weight infants, admitted to the K.U. Leuven Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, progressively increased to 67% for the < 1000 g birth weight group, to 84% for the 1000-1499 group, and to 92% for the 1500-1999 g group. At follow-up, psychomotor development at the age of 1 year was considered to be normal in about 70% of the surviving infants with birthweight < 1000 g, in about 75% in the 1000-1499 g group and in about 80% of the 1500-1999 g group. At the end of the second year of grammar school 77% succeeded, 3% failed and 18% followed special schools. A significant correlation is found between the Bailey developmental scale at the age of 7 months and the WPPSI intelligence score at the age of 5 years.