Long-term neuropsychological outcomes in very low birth weight children free of sensorineural impairments

This study investigated the neuropsychological outcomes at school age of ch ildren with very low birth weight (VLBW) free of sensorineural impairments. Subjects included 19 children with VLBW identified at age 3 as 'suspect' f or developmental problems, 19 children with VLBW identified at age 3 as dev eloping normally, and 30 children of normal birth weight (NBW). Results ind icated that children in the VLBW 'suspect' group performed significantly mo re poorly on all of the neuropsychological measures compared to children of NEW. These findings suggest that VLBW children identified as 'suspect' for developmental problems because of impairments in cognitive skills at age 3 continued to show deficits at school age on intellectual and neuropsycholo gical measures.