The aims of the proposed study are to determine whether the occurence of IVH, its severity, and the gestational age when it occurs, affect subsequent neurodevelopmental outcome in the victims. In addition, the study will seek to determine whether specific functions are affected, and whether knowing the locus of the hemorrhage allows prediction of particular neurodvelopmental sequelae. The study also proposes to examine the influence of environmental conditions on the outcome of these subjects. This would be a longitudinal follow-up study with two groups--very low birthweight preterms who suffer IVH and preterm controls matched on severity of respiratory distress syndrome and medical complications. Assessments would be made in the neonatal period and at 3, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. A battery of medical and developmental assessments would be administered at each time point, with an emphasis on measures of language, visual-motor functioning and attention. Questionnaires about the infant's temperament and amount of life change which the family is experiencing would periodically be completed by the mothers. An assessment of mother-infant interaction and the physical characteristics of the home would be made during visits to the home at 3, 12, 24, and 36 months. A variety of statistical techniques would be used to analyze the data including discriminant analysis and repeated measures analyses of variance to examine group differences in outcome measures, and analysis of covariance with multiple regression to evaluate the contributions of a number of birth complications and status variables on group differences in the outcome measures. Discriminant analyses will be used to determine whether specific types of deficits are associated with the loci of the hemorrhages. The project would be a multidisciplinary effort, including physicians, developmental psychologists, and other health-related professionals such as speech pathologists, physiotherapists and social workers. The results of this study would make a valuable contribution to an understanding of the optimal long-term management of children who suffer IVH.
| Lewis, M; Bendersky, M; Koons, A et al. (1991) Visitation to a neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatrics 88:795-800 |
| Lewis, M; Thomas, D (1990) Cortisol release in infants in response to inoculation. Child Dev 61:50-9 |
| Bendersky, M; Lewis, M (1990) Early language ability as a function of ventricular dilatation associated with intraventricular hemorrhage. J Dev Behav Pediatr 11:17-21 |
| Lewis, M; Bendersky, M (1989) Cognitive and motor differences among low birth weight infants: impact of intraventricular hemorrhage, medical risk, and social class. Pediatrics 83:187-92 |
