PEDIATRICS Vol. 90 No. 5 November 1992, pp. 681-687
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gross, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Mettelman, B. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gross, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Mettelman, B. B.

Impact of a Matched Term Control Group on Interpretation of Developmental Performance in Preterm Infants

Steven J. Gross MD1, Terri A. Slagle MD1, Diane B. D'Eugenio MA, OTR1, and Barbara B. Mettelman MA2

1 From the Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Syracuse
2 From the Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Syracuse

One hundred twenty-four children who were born at 24 to 31 weeks' gestation and 124 term children matched in social background underwent serial developmental evaluations. The Bayley Mental Developmental Index at 6, 15, and 24 months and the McCarthy General Cognitive Index at 4 years were used to classify cognitive outcome for preterm children as normal (indices higher than 1 SD below the mean), mild-moderately delayed (indices between 1 and 2 SD below the mean), or severely delayed (indices ge2 SD below the mean). Classifications based on norms derived from the performance of the term control group were compared with those based on published standardized test scores. The control group had substantially higher mean (±SD) Bayley Mental Developmental Indices at 6 (111 ± 11), 15 (114 ± 13), and 24 months (115 ± 21) than the published test mean (100 ± 16). Consequently, significantly more preterm children were classified as normal when the Bayley test mean was used than when the performance of the control group was used to define the normal range (84% vs 52% at 6 months, 82% vs 49% at 15 months, and 70% vs 47% at 24 months). Severe cognitive delays were infrequent when defined by test mean (6% to 11%) but two to three times greater when the control group scores were used. In contrast, the control group had a mean McCarthy General Cognitive Index at 4 years (102 ± 14) that was similar to the published test mean (100 ± 16). Thus, while the preterm group demonstrated a small decrease in mean cognitive scores between 2 and 4 years (Mental Developmental Index, 95 ± 19 and General Cognitive Index, 92 ± 15), this represented a significant improvement in performance relative to the 13-point fall in mean scores in the control group over this same period (115 ± 21 to 102 ± 14). These data highlight the importance of a control group to provide normative data for current populations of children and to provide a reference for comparing outcome over time using different testing instruments in the evaluation of high-risk children.

Key Words: preterm birth • developmental performance

Submitted on January 17, 1992
Accepted on March 31, 1992




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
Follow-up Care of High-Risk Infants
Pediatrics, November 1, 2004; 114(5/S1): 1377 - 1397.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.Home page
L W Doyle and D Casalaz
Outcome at 14 years of extremely low birthweight infants: a regional study
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., November 1, 2001; 85(3): F159 - 164.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
C. Kohlhauser, R. Fuiko, A. Panagl, C. Zadra, N. Haschke, S. Brandstetter, M. Weninger, and A. Pollak
Outcome of Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants at 1 and 2 Yearse of Age: The Importance of Early Identification of Neurodevelopmental Deficits
Clinical Pediatrics, August 1, 2000; 39(8): 441 - 449.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
D Wolke
Psychological development of prematurely born children
Arch. Dis. Child., June 1, 1998; 78(6): 567 - 570.
[Full Text]

Home page
 NEJMHome page
D. C. Bellinger, R. A. Jonas, L. A. Rappaport, D. Wypij, G. Wernovsky, K. C.K. Kuban, P. D. Barnes, G. L. Holmes, P. R. Hickey, R. D. Strand, et al.
Developmental and Neurologic Status of Children after Heart Surgery with Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest or Low-Flow Cardiopulmonary Bypass
N. Engl. J. Med., March 2, 1995; 332(9): 549 - 555.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]