Jerky spontaneous movements at term age in preterm infants who later developed cerebral palsy

Background: Assessment of spontaneous movements in infants has been a powerful predictor of cerebral palsy (CP). Recent advancements on computer-based video analysis can provide detailed information about the properties of spontaneous movements. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between spontaneous movements of the 4 limbs at term age and the development of CP at 3 years of age by using a computer-based video analysis system. Study design and subjects: We analyzed video recordings of spontaneous movements at 36-44 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) for 145 preterm infants who were born preterm (22-36 weeks PMA with birthweights of 460-1498 g). Sixteen of the infants developed CP by 3 years of age, while 129 developed normally. We compared 6 movement indices calculated from 2-dimensional trajectories of all limbs between the 2 groups. Results: We found that the indices of jerkiness were higher in the CP group than in the normal group (p < 0.1 for arms and p < 0.01 for legs). No decline was observed in the average velocity and number of movement units in the CP group compared with to the normal group. Conclusions: Jerkiness of spontaneous movements at term age provides additional information for predicting CP in infants born preterm. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.