All issues > Volume 52(1); 2009

Review Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(1):14-21. Published online January 15, 2009.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants and extremely low birth weight infants in Korea, 1984-2008

In Kyung IK Sung¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, St. Mary`s Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence In Kyung IK Sung ,Email: sinky@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) and extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) in Korea on 14 reports from 1984 to 2008 were analyzed. Follow-up rates were varied from 42.9% to 90.2%. Duration of follow-up ranged from 4 months to 5 years. The prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) of VLBWI was as follows: 4.3-5.3% in 1980s, 7.1-9.1 % in 1990s and 3.6-15.6% in 2000s. CP was noted in 8.2-30.8% of ELBWI on studies reported in 2000s. Delayed Mental development was diagnosed in 2.0-17.9% of VLBWI and in 20.4-30.8% of ELBWI. Sensory impairments such as hearing loss or visual deficit were reported in 3.1-3.6% of VLBWI and 0.0-10.0% of ELBWI. Seizure disorder was reported in 5.3% of VLBWI by one report. No reports for minor neurodevelopmental dysfunctions in VLBWI and ELBWI were found from 1984 to 2008. It is necessary to establish basic protocols and nationwide systems for long-term follow-up study to obtain valuable data.

Keywords :Neurodevelopmental outcome, Follow-up, Infant, Very low birth weight, Extremely low birth weight, Newborn, Korea