Growth and respiratory health in adolescence of the extremely low-birth weight survivor

Extremely low-birth weight (birth weight <1000 g) children grow poorly in early childhood, but catch up substantially in weight and height by 14 years of age. Despite the need sometimes for prolonged periods of assisted ventilation and oxygen therapy, the respiratory health and lung function of extremely low-birth weight children is mostly normal in adolescence. The effects of cigarette smoke and of newer therapies, such as exogenous surfactant and postnatal corticosteroids, on respiratory health in adulthood remain to be determined.