Table I.
Social demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants
| TNA (n=17) | NNA (n=89) | Persistent neurological abnormalities (n=18) |
TNA vs NNA (p) |
TNA vs persistent neurological abnormalities group (p) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gestational age (wk), mean (SD) | 25.6 (1.0) | 25.6 (1.2) | 24.8 (1.5) | 0.963 | 0.075 |
| Birthweight (g), mean (SD) | 830 (162) | 808 (181) | 767 (200) | 0.647 | 0.301 |
| Small for gestational age, n (%)a | 3 (18) | 17 (19) | 3 (18) | 0.888 | >0.999 |
| Males, n (%) | 10 (59) | 36 (40) | 9 (50) | 0.167 | 0.601 |
| Black, n (%) | 6 (35) | 60 (67) | 12 (67) | 0.016 | 0.068 |
| Maternal antenatal steroids, n (%) | 15 (88) | 78 (88) | 14 (78) | 0.945 | 0.419 |
| Chorioaminitis, n (%) | 1 (6) | 12 (13) | 1 (6) | 0.396 | 0.967 |
| Cesarean delivery, n (%) | 6 (35) | 51 (57) | 8 (44) | 0.102 | 0.581 |
| Intubated at birth, n (%) | 15 (88) | 71 (80) | 18 (100) | 0.420 | 0.998 |
| 5 minute Apgar <6, n (%) | 7 (41) | 30 (34) | 8 (47) | 0.555 | 0.730 |
| Multiple birth, n (%) | 3 (18) | 18 (20) | 6 (33) | 0.807 | 0.295 |
| Oxygen dependent at 36wk PMA, n (%) | 12 (71) | 46 (52) | 11 (61) | 0.171 | 0.556 |
| Ventilator days, median (25th–75th centile) | 30 (14–57) | 20 (4–35) | 42 (12–82) | 0.094 | 0.409 |
| Postnatal steroids, n (%) | 6 (35) | 8 (9) | 5 (28) | 0.007 | 0.633 |
| Patent ductus arteriosis, n (%) | 11 (65) | 49 (55) | 13 (72) | 0.464 | 0.633 |
| Sepsis, meningitis, and/or NEC n (%)b | 9 (53) | 33 (37) | 10 (56) | 0.225 | 0.877 |
| Grade I/II IVH without PVL, n (%) | 4 (24) | 12 (13) | 1 (6) | 0.296 | 0.160 |
| Grade III/IV IVH and/or PVL, n (%) | 1 (6) | 5 (6) | 9 (50) | 0.966 | 0.014 |
| Maternal demographic characteristics at school-age testing | |||||
| Married, n (%) | 12 (71) | 38 (43) | 9 (50) | 0.042 | 0.218 |
| Educational level (y), mean (SD) | 13.2 (2.0) | 13.3 (2.4) | 13.3 (2.6) | 0.913 | 0.958 |
| Median family income, mean (SD)c | 61.6 (24.9) | 56.2 (35.2) | 56.8 (24.6) | 0.535 | 0.668 |
| Educational characteristics | |||||
| Age at testing (y), mean (SD) | 6.0 (.3) | 5.9 (.4) | 6.2 (.4) | 0.147 | 0.281 |
| Preschool attendance, n (%) | 16 (94) | 71 (80) | 16 (89) | 0.188 | 0.587 |
| Special-needs school/class, n (%) | 4 (24) | 3 (3) | 8 (44) | 0.008 | 0.198 |
| IEP or related service, n (%) | 7 (41) | 29 (33) | 15 (83) | 0.515 | 0.014 |
a
Birthweight greater than 2SD below expectation for gestational age based on Yudkin standards. Persistent neurological abnormalities group had one child who could not be classified at <24wk.
b
One case of meningitis in TNA group and one case in the persistent neurological abnormalities group.
c
Family income in thousands of dollars based on neighborhood tract of family residence from the 2000 US Census.22
TNA, transient neurological abnormalities; NNA, neurologically normal assessment; PMA, postmenstrual age; NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis; IVH, intraventricular hemorrhage; PVL, periventricular leukomalacia; IEP, individualized educational program.