Changes in neurodevelopmental outcome at age eight in geographic cohorts of children born at 22-27 weeks' gestational age during the 1990s

Abstract

Background: The survival rate for children born with gestational ages 22-27 weeks is increasing, and this may be associated with higher rates of disability. The aims of this study were to determine the outcomes at age eight for a regional cohort of children born at 22-27 weeks during 1997, and to compare their rates of disability with a cohort of the same gestational age born in 1991-1992. Methods: Consecutive children with gestational ages in the range 22-27 weeks born in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1997 and matched term controls were assessed at 8 years. Outcomes included blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy (CP) and intellectual impairment and disabilities caused by these impairme..