Scientific and technological advances in perinatal medicine have led to increased rates of survival and long term morbidities in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up has become an important tool for the evaluation of the impact of neonatal intensive care interventions and therapies. In the literature, the incidences of neurodevelopmental impairments have been reported to be increased in VLBW infants. In this study, we aimed to define the incidences of long-term neurodevelopmental and growth impairments at corrected ages of 12-18 months in the VLBW population of our neonatal intensive care unit during the period 2003-2006. Standard neurological examination and Denver Developmental Screening Test II were used for neurodevelopmental evaluation. A total of 128 infants could be included in the study, which comprised 40% of the entire VLBW population during the above period. Growth failure was detected in 12 (9.4%) infants. The majority of the infants (112, 87.5%) were neurologically normal, while 12 infants (9.4%) developed cerebral palsy. Maternal chorioamnionitis was the highest risk factor for the development of cerebral palsy (OR 18.3, %95 CI 3.8- 88.2). In the Denver Developmental Screening Test, 16 infants (12.5%) showed gross-motor abnormalities, while 12 (9.4%) had fine-motor abnormalities, 9 (7.0%) had personal-social problems and 10 (7.8%) had verbal problems. Retinopathy of prematurity was detected in 16 infants (12.5%), while 6 infants (4.7%) had hearing impairment. The incidences of all neurodevelopmental and neurosensorial problems were comparable to those reported previously in the literature. However, although the incidences of major neurodevelopmental impairments in VLBW infants of our hospital are not high, longer and detailed follow-up of this population until adolescence or even adulthood should be achieved in order to obtain a more comprehensive analysis.

Keywords: çok düşük doğum ağırlıklı bebek, nörolojik ve gelişimsel prognoz, izlem