J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2000 Jun;24(3):432-438.

Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

• Choi KH
• Chun CS
• Kim HJ
• Sung IY
• Ha SB
• Kim KS
• Pi SY

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the survival rate and the prevalence of cerebral palsy in very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants as well as the risk factors for the development of cerebral palsy. METHOD: We reviewed medical records of 471 VLBW infants admitted to Asan medical center from 1989 to 1997 retrospectively.
RESULTS
Ninety seven infants died before discharge from hospital, 7 died during follow-up, 55 status unknown due to discharge against medical advice, 26 discontinued follow-up. At corrected chronologic age of 2 years old, the prevalence of cerebral palsy was 10.5%, delayed development 4.5% and normal development 85.0%. Survival rate and prevalence of cerebral palsy among survivors remained statistically insignificant with time. Cerebral palsy was found in 8.5% of VLBW and 19.2% of ELBW. Decreasing gestation, abnormal neurosonographic findings, assisted ventilation, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis were risk factors associated with increased odds for cerebral palsy.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of cerebral palsy in VLBW infants admitted to this hospital were comparable with recent studies from developed countries, and some of the predictors of cerebral palsy, ie, gestation period, neurosonographic findings, history of respirator use and sepsis, were also similar to those of western countries.

Keyword

Low birth weight infant; Cerebral palsy; Prevalence; Risk factor

MeSH Terms

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Cerebral Palsy*
Child, Preschool
Chungcheongnam-do
Developed Countries
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Infant*
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight*
Medical Records
Pregnancy
Prevalence*
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Sepsis
Survival Rate
Survivors
Ventilation
Ventilators, Mechanical