Abstract :
Keywords Early intervention; Preterm infants; Motor development; Parent-administered intervention Highlights * Dosage of NICU intervention for preterm infants linked to motor outcome at 24 months. * NICU interventions provided by parents associated with positive long term outcomes. * Ongoing guidance is important for parents delivering interventions in the NICU. Abstract Background Interventions involving both the parent and the preterm infant have demonstrated lasting effects on cognitive outcomes, but motor effects are less salient. It remains unclear when to commence early intervention and if dosages have impact on motor outcomes. Aims To examine the effect on motor performance at 24-months corrected age following a parent-administered intervention performed with infants born preterm in the NICU. Intervention dosing and longitudinal motor performance were also analyzed. Study design Single-blinded randomized multicenter clinical trial. Subjects 153 infants born, gestational age [less than or equal to] 32 weeks at birth, were randomized into intervention or control group. Outcome measures Infant Motor Performance Screening Test, Test of Infant Motor Performance, Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2. Results No significant difference was found between the intervention and the control group assessed with the PDMS-2 at 24-months CA. However, a significant positive association was found between dosing and the Gross Motor and Total Motor PDMS-2 scores. Analysis of longitudinal motor performance showed a decreasing motor performance between 6- and 24-months corrected age in both groups. Conclusions There was no difference in motor performance between groups at 24-months corrected age. However, increased intervention dosage was positively associated with improved motor outcome. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Health and Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway (b) Department of Clinical Therapeutic Services, University Hospital North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (c) Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway (d) Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA (e) Department of Clinical Services, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (f) Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (g) Pediatric and Adolescent Department, University Hospital North Norway HF, Norway (h) Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway * Corresponding author at: Department of Health and Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway Article History: Received 27 June 2022; Revised 21 September 2022; Accepted 22 September 2022 Byline: Gunn Kristin Øberg [gunn.kristin.oeberg@uit.no] (a,b,*), Bjørn Helge Handegård [bjorn.helge.handegaard@uit.no] (c), Suzann K. Campbell [skc@uic.edu] (d), Tordis Ustad [tordis.ustad@ntnu.no] (e,f), Toril Fjørtoft [toril.fjortoft@ntnu.no] (e,f), Per Ivar Kaaresen [per.ivar.kaaresen@unn.no] (g,h), Gay L. Girolami [gayg@uic.edu] (d)