Patient's question:
A child weighing 2 jin! How high is the survival rate? How much does it cost?Doctor's answer:
On December 24th, the Department of Neonatology and Department of Child Neurology at Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University conducted a follow-up study on multiple extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants admitted over the past three years, releasing a report on the follow-up survey of ELBW infants.ELBW infants refer to newborns with a birth weight between 1,000 grams and 1,499 grams. Professor Wang Hua from the Department of Child Neurology introduced that among the 12 children followed up recently by the hospital, only two were completely normal. The other children were found to have varying degrees of issues, including behavioral abnormalities (e.g., hyperactivity tendencies), cerebral palsy, sleep disorders, and language dysfunction.
Previously, the mortality rate of ELBW infants was very high, 20 times that of full-term newborns. However, with the advancement of medicine, the survival rate of ELBW infants has been increasing.
What is the quality of life for these children after surviving? They often face long-term issues such as developmental disorders (including cerebral palsy and mental retardation), visual and auditory impairments, mild neurological dysfunction (including language disorders, learning difficulties, behavioral problems, and hyperactivity).
Early intervention can prevent
Does this mean that to have healthy children, we must give up on ELBW infants? Not necessarily.
“It is important to identify problematic ELBW infants early and provide early intervention treatment,” said Wang Hua. The most severe issue faced by ELBW infants is cerebral palsy, but in reality, the proportion of children who develop cerebral palsy is not high. Moreover, if treatment begins within the first three months of the child’s life, no can remain, and they can grow up like normal children. Previously, people believed that dead nerve cells could not regenerate, but in clinical practice, recovery is possible if effective treatment is administered within the appropriate time frame.
For other abnormalities, targeted treatments such as neurotrophic drugs and early home education can be effective, helping these children return to normalcy and live healthy lives as early as possible.