A two year follow-up of infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

Forty-seven of 74 infants with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome who had received intensive care in the neonatal period were examined between the ages of 15 and 24 months to assess their progress. All the children (including the premature infants) had caught up with their peers in height, weight and head circumference. Although 11 infants had a history of respiratory problems, only two showed residual lung changes on radiological examination. Only one infant who had frequent apnoeic spells had serious eye problems due to retrolental fibroplasia. A definite neurological deficit was found in one case, in which a congenital infection could not be ruled out.