............................................................................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS .............................................................................................................. 8 ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................

OBJECTIVE There is increasing concern in regard to the possible long-term adverse effects of postnatal dexamethasone treatment in preterm infants. The purpose of this study was to assess growth and neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants at high risk of chronic lung disease (CLD), treated with early (<96 hours) postnatal dexamethasone. DESIGN Three-year follow-up data of physical growth...

CONTEXT Supplementation of breast milk is difficult once infants suckle the breast and is often discontinued at end of hospitalisation and after discharge. Thus, breastfed preterm infants are exposed to an increased risk of nutritional deficit with a possible consequence on neurodevelopmental outcome. OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between breast feeding at time of discharge, weight gai...

A single course of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) reduces the risk of severe neonatal morbidity and is associated with a strong trend towards a reduced risk of abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome. However, because 50% of women given ACS remain undelivered and continue to be at risk for preterm delivery, the question remains: would these women benefit from repeated courses of ACS, and, if so, h...

Neurodevelopmental care, which is any NICU intervention undertaken to improve neurodevelopmental outcome, includes NICU design, nursing routines, nursing care plans, management of pain, feeding methods and, most importantly, encouraging parental involvement with their NICU infant. Recognition that sensory stimulation can overwhelm preterm infants and increase physiologic signs of stress led to ...

AIMS To assess the operative outcome, cardiac and neurodevelopmental sequelae in infants with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) undergoing the arterial switch operation (ASO). METHOD Cross-sectional review of the 48 consecutive patients operated on in the calendar years 1995 and 1996 was undertaken to obtain recent cardiac, growth and neurodevelopmental parameters, and the mortality r...

OBJECTIVE With recent advances and frequent use of prenatal ultrasound, the antenatal diagnosis of agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) is not rare in obstetrics practices. However, information regarding the long-term neurological outcome remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical outcomes of prenatally diagnosed ACC and to analyze postnatal neurodevelopmental outcome...

BACKGROUND Doxapram has been advocated as a treatment for persistent apnea of prematurity (AOP). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of doxapram on long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants as its safety still needs to be established. METHODS From a retrospective cohort of preterm infants with a gestational age (GA) <30 weeks and/or a birth weight <1,250 g, born between 2000 and ...

AIMS To determine long term neurodevelopmental outcome following the spectrum of meningococcal infection. METHODS Between 1988 and 1990, 152 cases of meningococcal disease were recruited; 139 survived. Between 1998 and 1999, 115 survivors (83%) were evaluated, together with 115 sex and age matched controls. Standard measures of neurological function, coordination, cognition, behaviour, and he...

Perinatal stroke in neonates can lead to disability in later life. However, its etiology and prognosis are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to describe clinical presentations and neurodevelopmental outcomes of our case series of perinatal stroke in Korea. Thirteen term and preterm neonates who were diagnosed with perinatal stroke in two university hospitals from March 2003 to March ...