Risk factors affecting Tests of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) in pre-term infants at post-conceptional age of 40 weeks.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to correlate clinical factors with the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) in pre-term infants at a post-conceptional age of 40 weeks.

METHODS

The study enrolled 80 pre-term infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Data on birth weight, multiple birth, sex, delivery type, Apgar scores at 1 minute and 5 minutes, neonatal seizures and Intraventricular Haemorrhage (IVH) as assessed by echoencephalography were retrospectively analysed through a review of relevant medical records.

RESULTS

IVH was the clinical factor most strongly correlated with the TIMP scores. Other clinical factors which significantly affected the TIMP scores were caesarean section, neonatal seizures, low birth weight and multiple births.

CONCLUSIONS

When pre-term infants exhibit risk factors of developmental delay, it is suggestd that TIMP is performed early in life among pre-term infants and the results can be used to select infants for early interventions.