Abstract Objective To investigate the early intellectual developmental outcome of late preterm infants. Methods A total of 106 late preterm infants with a gestational age of 34-36+6 weeks who were admitted to the neonatal ward between January 2012 and January 2015, cured, discharged, and regularly followed up at the outpatient service for high-risk children were enrolled as the preterm group. A total of 120 healthy full-term infants during the same period were randomly selected as the term group. Neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) was performed for late preterm infants at a corrected gestational age of 40 weeks and full-term infants at a gestational age of 40 weeks. The Gesell Developmental Scale was used for late preterm infants at a corrected age of 3, 6, and 12 months and full-term infants at an age of 3, 6, and 12 months. Results The preterm group had an NBNA score of < 37 and a significantly lower NBNA score than the term group (P < 0.05). At the corrected age of 3 months, the preterm group had significantly lower scores of gross motor, fine motor, and social competence than the term group (P < 0.05). At the corrected age of 6 months, the preterm group had significantly lower scores of adaptability, gross motor, and fine motor than the term group (P < 0.05). At the corrected age of 12 months, the preterm group had significantly lower scores of adaptability, gross motor, and social competence than the term group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Late preterm infants have early intellectual developmental delay. It is necessary to perform neurodevelopmental monitoring for late preterm infants.
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