Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 159, Issue 6, December 2011, Pages 933-938.e1
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original Article
Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program in Very Low Birth Weight Infants Improves Independency in Mobility at Preschool Age

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2011.05.035Get rights and content

Objective

To evaluate the effects of the Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program© (IBAIP) in very low birth weight infants on sensory processing and daily activities at preschool age.

Study design

Follow-up of children included in a randomized controlled trial. Eighty-six infants were enrolled in post-discharge IBAIP until 6 months corrected age, and 90 infants received standard care. At 3.5 years of age, the Sensory Profile-Dutch version (SP-NL) and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Dutch version (PEDI-NL) were administered. For comparison, parents of 41 term-born children also completed the SP-NL.

Results

Seventy-six children (88%) in the IBAIP group and 75 children (83%) children in the control group were examined at 44 months corrected age. After adjustment for pre-randomization differences in perinatal characteristics, the IBAIP group outperformed the control group significantly on SP-NL domains of oral sensory processing and sensory processing related to endurance/tone and PEDI-NL domains of mobility. The control group only scored significantly lower than the term group on the SP-NL domain endurance/tone. The very low birth weight groups performed significantly below the PEDI-NL’s norm.

Conclusion

In line with the positive developmental effects of the IBAIP until 24 months corrected age, independency in mobility in daily activities was improved at 3.5 years.

Section snippets

Methods

A follow-up study was designed for children included in the multicenter RCT of IBAIP in VLBW infants.11 The RCT was carried out in 7 hospitals in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Medical Ethics Committee of the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, approved this follow-up study. Recruitment of infants with a gestational age (GA) <32 weeks, birth weight <1500 g, or both took place between January 2004 and April 2006. Infants were randomized in the intervention or control group with a

Results

From the original cohort of 176 VLBW infats, data were collected from 151 children (86%) at mean CA (SD) of 44 (0.5) months; 76 children in the IBAIP (88%) and 75 children in the control group (83%) participated. The participants did not differ significantly from the 25 non-participants for perinatal characteristics, sociodemographic factors, and mental developmental index and psychomotor developmental index at 24 months on Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II. However, children who did not

Discussion

We have assessed sensory processing and independence in daily activities at 44 months CA to determine whether positive outcomes in children who received IBAIP were sustained. In line with the improved developmental outcomes of the IBAIP at 24 months CA,12 better functional outcomes at 44 months CA were found specifically for the motor domain. Furthermore, the two sensory processing domains improved by the IBAIP relate to body awareness, postural control, and stamina. Although non-significant,

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  • Cited by (0)

    Supported by grants from the Innovatiefonds Zorgverzekeraars (project 576) and ZonMw (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland; project 62200032). The sponsors had no involvement in study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

    Trial registered with the controlled-trials.com: ISRCTN65503576.

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