To investigate cognition, social adaptive functioning, behavior, and emotional development in the preschool period and to determine the effects of the age of onset of walking on those developmental areas in children who were born preterm without major neurodevelopmental impairments (NDI) early in life.
Fifty-eight children who were born preterm without major NDI early in life participated in this study. The Korean versions of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence or the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, the social maturity scale, the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Conners' abbreviated parent/teacher rating scale, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and a speech developmental test were administered. The participants were divided into two groups: early walkers (group A) and late walkers (group B).
The full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) and performance IQ were significantly lower in group B than in group A, while the verbal IQ did not differ significantly between the groups. The children in group B had greater risks of cognitive deficits than did the children in group A, especially in performance skills. The social quotient (SQ) was significantly lower in group B than in group A (p<0.05). The rates of mild or significant deficits based on SQ and the CBCL did not differ significantly between the groups. Four children in group A and one child in group B had attention/hyperactivity problems. One child in group A had autistic behavior. Only one child in group B showed a significant speech developmental delay.
Problems in cognition, social adaptive functioning, and emotional and behavioral development can occur in children without major NDI early in life. Late walkers had significantly lower scores in cognition and social adaptive functioning than did early walkers.
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To determine the clinical characteristics and videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) findings in infants with suspected dysphagia and compare the clinical characteristics and VFSS findings between full-term and preterm infants.
A total of 107 infants (67 full-term and 40 preterm) with suspected dysphagia who were referred for VFSS at a tertiary university hospital were enrolled in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics and VFSS findings were reviewed by a physiatrist and an experienced speech-language pathologist. The association between the reasons of referral for VFSS and VFSS findings were analyzed.
Mean gestational age was 35.1±5.3 weeks, and mean birth weight was 2,381±1,026 g. The most common reason for VFSS referral was 'poor sucking' in full-term infants and 'desaturation' in preterm infants. The most common associated medical condition was 'congenital heart disease' in full-term infants and 'bronchopulmonary dysplasia' in preterm infants. Aspiration was observed in 42 infants (39.3%) and coughing was the only clinical predictor of aspiration in VFSS. However, 34 of 42 infants (81.0%) who showed aspiration exhibited silent aspiration during VFSS. There were no significant differences in the VFSS findings between the full-term and preterm infants except for 'decreased sustained sucking.'
There are some differences in the clinical manifestations and VFSS findings between full-term and preterm infants with suspected dysphagia. The present findings provide a better understanding of these differences and can help clarify the different pathophysiologic mechanisms of dysphagia in infants.
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