Predictive values of cranial ultrasound and assessment of general movements for neurological development of preterm infants in the Maribor region of Slovenia.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the predictive values of cranial ultrasound (US) scans and assessment of general movements of fidgety character (GMs) for the later neurological development of preterm infants in the Maribor region of Slovenia.

Methods: Results of cranial US scans done longitudinally from the day of birth until the end of three months of chronologic age and results of GMs at three months of corrected age were compared with traditional neurological examination and evaluation of psychomotor development of the same children at the corrected age of six years.

Results: A total of 112 preterm infants (gestational age 37 weeks and below) were included in the study.

Epidemiological study of cerebral palsy in the Maribor region.

Background: The results of changes in perinatal health care in Maribor show a significant improvement in the past decade. Between 1995 and 1999, the survival chances of neonates with birth weight < 1000g also increased. With the appearance of new generations of extremely low-birth-weight infants, the risk of a higher incidence rate of various forms of neurosensory affection in the survivors increased.