Outcome for survivors of mechanical ventilation weighing less than 1,250 gm at birth.

We investigated the outcome in 28 survivors of mechanical ventilation weighing less than 1,250 gm at birth. Fifteen infants (54%) had neurodevelopmental sequelae, of whom eight had major handicaps. These eight infants differed significantly from the rest of the infants studied in the following manner: lower mean birth weight and gestational age, delay in transportation to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and high incidence of bacterial sepsis. The remaining seven infants with NDS were functionally normal or minimally impaired at the time of the study, although significant problems may yet emerge with continued follow-up. Retrolental fibroplasia was diagnosed in 11 infants (39%) and resolved in two. The development of RLF was associated with prolonged oxygen exposure and the presence of bacterial sepsis. However, since major handicap, RLF, and sepsis were all problems observed in the smallest infants, a cause-and-effect relationship between sepsis and these sequelae remains speculative.