Infants Weighing 1,000 Grams or Less at Birth: Developmental Outcome for Ventilated and Nonventilated Infants

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Abstract
Neurodevelopmental outcome at a mean age of 40 mo. was investigated in 23/25 surviving infants of birth weight .ltoreq. 1000 g. Eight [human] infants required intubation and assisted ventilation and 17 were not ventilated. One ventilated infant was lost to follow-up and 1 nonventilated infant was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome at age 6 mo. Fifteen (65%) had a good outcome but the differences between ventilated and nonventilated infants were striking. Thirteen (81%) of the nonventilated group were normal, but only 2 ventilated survivors (28%) were normal (P < 0.05). Cicatricial retrolental fibroplasia occurred in 3 (43%) of the ventilated survivors and in none of the nonventilated infants (P < 0.02). The requirement of assisted ventilation in these very low-birth-weight infants is associated with significant morbidity. Improvement in outcome may depend as much upon better understanding and management of prenatal events as upon improvements in neonatal care.