Neurological examination of late-preterm infants at term age

Abstract Background Late-preterm infants represent 70% of the whole preterm population. Aims To establish the range and frequency distribution of neonatal neurological scores in a large cohort of low risk late-preterm infants and the possible differences with full-term infants. Methods Three hundred-seventy-five healthy infants born between 34 and 36 weeks gestational age (GA) without major brain lesions were assessed between 39 and 41 weeks post-menstrual age using the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurologic Assessment and compared to the scores obtained using the same examination in full-term infants. Results Infants born at 35 and 36 weeks GA had similar median scores in 32 of the 34 items. Infants born at 34 weeks GA had a different profile of scores compared to those born at 35 and 36 weeks, mainly in the tone items. While in infants born at 34 weeks the assessment at term age showed similar median scores to those obtained in full-term infants in 25/34 items, in those born at 35 and 36 GA the number of scores similar to full-term infants increased to 29/34. The main differences involved the tone items, with more marked flexor tone in the limbs and better head control for those born at 35 and 36 weeks. Conclusions This data can help as reference data when examining late-preterm infants at term age to see where the individual child stands compared to age matched low risk infants and to identify signs that are outside the reported range in infants with lesions or other risk factors.