OUTCOME AT 5-6 YEARS OF PREMATURELY BORN CHILDREN WHO RECEIVED MORPHINE AS NEONATES

Aim-To assess outcome at 5-6 years in a cohort of very preterm infants (<34 weeks of gestation) who had been randomly allocated within a con trolled clinical trial to receive morphine or non-morphine treatment i n the neonatal period. Methods-Assessments were made on 87 children at 5-6 years who had been recruited in the neonatal period to two sequen tial controlled studies (1989-92). Infants requiring mechanical ventil ation had been randomly allocated to receive either morphine (n=62) or other (n=33) solutions starting on the first day of life. Each child was seen by a single experienced observer and assessed at 5-6 years us ing the WPPSI-R, Movement ABC, the Child Behaviour Checklist. The perf ormance of children exposed to morphine was compared with that of thos e in the non-morphine group. Blood samples for thyroid stimulating hor mone (TSH) measurement were obtained from children whose parents gave consent. Results-There was no significant difference in any of the thr ee test scales between infants in the two groups, but there was a tren d towards better performance in all three tests in the morphine group. Assessment of TSH values in a subgroup of the survivors showed no dif ference in thyroid function between the two groups. Conclusion-Exposur e to morphine in the neonatal period to facilitate mechanical ventilat ion does not seem to have any adverse effects on intelligence, motor f unction, or behaviour when these children are assessed at 5-6 years of age.