Growth charts and long-term sequelae in extreme preterm infants--from full-term age to 10 years.

Aim: To describe growth pattern from full-term age to 10 years in infants born before 26 weeks of gestation.

Method: This retrospective longitudinal cohort contained 123 children from Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, during 1990-2002. Length/height (Ht), weight (Wt) and head circumference (HC) were recorded monthly during the first year, every 3 months until 2 years and yearly thereafter, but HC at 15 months and at median age of 8.1/9.7 years (range 2-14) in boys/girls.

Results: For boys/girls at birth, the mean Z-score for Ht was -0.2/-0.2, for Wt 0.0/-0.2 and for HC 0.0/-0.3. At term, the mean Z-score for Ht was -3.8/-3.1, for Wt -3.0/-2.5 and for HC -1.7/-1.2. At 1 year, the mean Z-score for Ht was-1.3/-1.3, for Wt -1.9/-1.7 and for HC -1.2/-1.0. At 2 years, the mean Z-score for Ht was -1.3/-1.1, for Wt -1.6/-1.2 and at 10 years for Ht -0.7/-0.4; that was on average -0.3 below mid-parental height; for Wt -0.2/-0.2. Long-term sequelae were found in 48% of the boys and 34% of the girls.

Conclusion: By 10 years of age, the attained mean Ht was in accordance with their genetic potential and almost half of these children had significant long-term sequelae.