Abstract
Sixty newborn infants were selected for the present study according to the following criteria. (1) Twenty small for date infants (birth weight below —2 SD according to Swedish standards) without major anomalies or pathological neurological signs. (2) For each small for date infant one full term infant with normal birth weight and of equal gestational age was selected, 20 infants in all. Their mean gestational age was the same as that of the small for date infants. (3) For each small for date infant, one preterm infant with the same birth weight, appropriate for the gestational age, was selected, 20 infants in all. Their mean birth weight was the same as that of the small for date infants.
All infants were examined neurologically, mainly using the technique of the French school. Thirty neurological signs were used. A neurological score was calculated for each infant.
The mean neurological score for the small for date infants was significantly lower than that for the full term infants of age difference of 10 days. The mean neurological score for the preterm infants was significantly lowere than that for the small for date infants. The finding of delayed neurological maturation in small for date infants is at variance with reports from the French authors. It is also at variance with our own results of motor conduction velocity studies in the same infants. Motor conduction velocity was not significantly reduced in small for date infants.
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Finnsiröm, O. 31. Neurological maturation in small for dale infatnts. Pediatr Res 5, 89 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00036
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00036