How effective is early intervention for LBW infants?
How effective is early intervention for LBW infants?
McCarton CM, Brooks-Gunn J, Wallace IF, et al. Results at age eight years of early intervention for low-birth-weight premature infants. JAMA 1997; 277:126-132.
This study re-evaluated children at the age of eight who had participated in a randomized clinical trial of special services for low-birthweight (LBW) premature infants during the first three years of life. Follow-up included two LBW groups those who were lighter, or less than 2,000 grams at birth, and those who weighed between 2,001 and 2,500 grams at birth. Children in those groups had received either intervention or follow-up only.
The three-year intervention consisted of home visits (birth to three years), child development center services (ages one to three years), and parent group meetings (ages one to three years). Primary outcome measures included various standardized tests to determine cognitive function, academic achievement, school performance, behavior, and health.
Although there were substantial cognitive and academic improvements in the children during the first three years of life, at age eight years, in the entire group and in the children with LBW, the intervention and follow-up-only groups were similar in all primary outcome measures.
"This indicates a need to develop additional intervention strategies for LBW premature children that can provide sustained benefits," the investigators conclude.
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