Table 2.
Relationship Between Head Lag and Medical and Environmental Factors and Neurobehavioral and Developmental Outcomes
| Variable | With Head Lag, n (%), M (SD), or Median (IQ Range; n = 37) | Without Head Lag, n (%), M (SD), or Median (IQ Range; n = 27) | p |
| Medical or environmental factor | |||
| Days on ventilator | 9 (1–32) | 1 (1–4) | .008 |
| Total O2, hr | 1,824 (1,128–2,400) | 1,296 (648–1,920) | .03 |
| Sepsis | 15 (83) | 3 (17) | .02 |
| Inotrope use | 16 (76) | 5 (24) | .04 |
| Length of NICU stay, days | 100.5 (36.6) | 84.5 (18.3) | .009 |
| Postmenstrual age at discharge, wk | 40.8 (4.6) | 39.1 (2.5) | .03 |
| Cerebral injury | 12 (92) | 1 (8) | .006 |
| Neurobehavioral outcome (NNNS score) | |||
| Quality of Movement | 3.4 (0.8) | 3.8 (0.7) | .03 |
| Self-regulation | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.8 (0.8) | <.001 |
| Bad reflexes | 7.6 (2.1) | 5.6 (1.7) | .001 |
| Stress | 0.4 (0.1) | 0.3 (0.1) | <.001 |
| Hypotonia | 1.0 (0.8) | 0.4 (0.5) | .002 |
| Asymmetry | 2.8 (2.2) | 0.9 (1.1) | <.001 |
| Developmental outcome (Bayley–III composite score) | |||
| Motor | 82.0 (11.9) | 86.4 (10.8) | .14 |
| Cognitive | 86.2 (10.2) | 86.1 (9.7) | .97 |
| Language | 88.8 (12.9) | 88.7 (11.0) | .98 |
Note. Bayley–III = Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (3rd ed.); IQ = interquartile; M = mean; NICU = neonatal intensive care unit; NNNS = NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale; SD = standard deviation. p values were determined using logistic regression models.