| Abstrakt: |
From July 1971 to June 1972 485 infants were admitted to the neonatal ward of the Children's Hospital, Aarau, Switzerland. Out of these, 138 newborns with the most severe complications and risk factors were selected. Group I consisted of 37 infants with a birthweight below 1500 g; 20 of these survived (54%). Group II consisted of 101 infants above 1500 g, 90 of whom survived (89%). The main causes of death were extreme prematurity (less than or equal to 27 weeks' gestation), hyaline membrane disease and cerebral hemorrhage. Somatic and mental development were investigated in 80 of the surviving infants at an average age of 5 years: 61 children (76%) were entirely normal, 94% had an IQ above 80, and 82.5% had no neurological deficits. Of the 19 handicapped children, 3 in group II were severely affected, 6 others were affected to a lesser degree. These 9 children (11% of all those examined) will need medical care and special education for many years to come. More than half, i.e. 10 children, were only mildly handicapped, exhibiting either minimal brain dysfunction or minimal cerebral palsy. |
