Prevalence and Patterns of Developmental Delay in Multiple Gestation Preterm Infants (P07.138)

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and pattern of developmental delay in infants born preterm and as multiple gestation, and explore the frequency of iron deficiency. Background Most studies exploring the adverse neurodevelopmental effects of preterm birth, multiple gestation, and iron deficiency have only calculated an overall developmental quotient (DQ) without examining individual developmental domains. Design/Methods: This retrospective study involved a review of medical records of patients 3-36 months of age who were evaluated by a neurodevelopmental specialist (ITJ) in a neonatal high-risk follow-up clinic between July 2005 and December 2011. Patients who were born preterm at Results: Forty patients with mean corrected age of 11.7 month (SD of 6.60 and mean gestational age of 30 weeks (SD 3.5) with mean birth weight 1300 grams (SD 484). The sample was comprised of 31 twins and 9 triplets. 68% of patients had some form of developmental delay. Expressive language delays were most prevalent (45%), followed by gross motor (40%), total DQ (37.5%), visual motor (25%), total language DQ (22.5%), and receptive language delay (20%). Of 21 patients with iron studies, 28% were iron deficient; however, there were no significant statistical differences in the DQ of various domains between iron-deficient and iron-replete patients. Conclusions: Infants born preterm and as multiple gestations have high prevalence of significant developmental delays which involve most frequently expressive language. One fourth of babies with iron studies had iron deficiency, but no differences were noted in DQ compared to iron-replete babies. Disclosure: Dr. Sibley has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jarjour has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jarjour has nothing to disclose.