Huisjes H J, Touwen B C, Hoekstra J, van Woerden-Blanksma J T, Bierman-van Eendenburg M E, Jurgens-van der Zee A D, Fidler V J, Olinga A A
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1980 May;10(4):247-56. doi: 10.1016/0028-2243(80)90005-2.
A study concerning the relationship between neonatal neurological abnormality and 3 parameters of pre- and perinatal condition in a birth cohort of 1507 infants was replicated in a second cohort of 1655 infants. The 3 parameters chosen were preterm birth, intrauterine growth retardation and neonatal acidemia. The neurological examination in the second cohort was carried out by other examiners than in the first cohort. The incidence of neurological abnormality was again found to be raised in all 3 categories and again least in the acidemic subgroup. Also the finding could be confirmed that only in about half of the neurologically abnormal infants could the 3 parameters have exerted any effect at all, which implies the necessity of further analysis. This replication study shows that neurological examination in the newborn period is a reliable tool for the evaluation of the condition of infants with respect to their pre- and perinatal history.
