PARENTS ESTIMATION OF PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN VERY-LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT (VLBW) INFANTS

Background: Within a longitudinal developmental surveillance project we tested the accuracy of the Revised Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire (R-PDQ) to detect developmental retardation in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants. Methods: Seventy surviving VLBW-infants born between July 1992 and December 1993 were re-examined at 6 months corrected age, The parent-completed questionnaires (n = 67) were compared with developmental assessment using the Griffiths Developmental Scale, Results: At 6 months corrected age, normal results on the Griffiths Developmental Scale (developmental quotient greater than or equal to 81) were found in 61/67 (91%) VLBW-infants and in 45/67 (67%) questionnaires (no or one 'delay'). The parents identified all six infants with psychomotor retardation on the Griffiths Developmental Scale (co-positivity 100%), However, only 45/61 infants with normal development were so identified with the R-PDQ (co-negativity 74%, positive predictive value 27%). Conclusions: The R-PDQ discovered all infants whose developmental quotient was two standard deviations below the mean on the Griffiths Developmental Scale. The relatively high proportion of false positive R-PDQ results corresponded to lower developmental quotients within the normal range. Therefore, the R-PDQ provides a useful screening instrument for VLBW-infants.