OUTCOME AT 4 TO 5 YEARS OF AGE IN CHILDREN RECOVERED FROM NEONATAL CHRONIC LUNG-DISEASE

Outcomes were compared for 31 very-low-birthweight children recovered from chronic lung disease and 31 very-low-birthweight controls. All ch ildren had been free of major abnormalities on neonatal cranial ultras onography. At 4 to 5 years of age, children were examined by a pediatr ician and tested by a psychologist who administered the Wechsler Presc hool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. Despite similar medica l outcomes, the children who had had neonatal chronic lung disease had lower Full-scale IQs (median 83 vs 87) and Performance IQs (79 vs 90) . Median Verbal IQ was similar in the two groups (85 vs 87). A higher proportion of children who had had chronic lung disease had Full-scale IQ<70 (8/31 [26%] vs 1/31 [3%]) and Performance IQ<70 (8/31 [26%] vs 0/31). These effects persisted after adjustment for confounding factor s.