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  • Original Article
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Do currently recommended Bayley-III cutoffs overestimate motor impairment in infants born <27 weeks gestation?

Journal of Perinatology volume 35, pages 516–521 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To determine whether a Bayley-III motor composite score of 85 may overestimate moderate–severe motor impairment by analyzing Bayley-III motor components and developing cut-point scores for each.

Study Design:

Retrospective study of 1183 children born <27 weeks gestation at NICHD Neonatal Research Network centers and evaluated at 18–22 months corrected age. Gross Motor Function Classification System determined gross motor impairment. Statistical analyses included linear and logistic regression and sensitivity/specificity.

Results:

Bayley-III motor composite scores were strong indicators of gross/fine motor impairment. A motor composite cut-point of 73 markedly improved the specificity for identifying gross and/or fine motor impairment (94% compared with a specificity of 76% for the proposed new cut-point of 85). A Fine Motor Scaled Score <3 differentiated mild from moderate–severe fine motor impairment.

Conclusions:

This study indicates that a Bayley-III motor composite score of 85 may overestimate impairment. Further studies are needed employing term controls and longer follow-up.

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Acknowledgements

The National Institutes of Health, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences provided grant support for the Neonatal Research Network’s Generic Database and Follow-up Studies. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Author notes

  1. A F Duncan, C Bann, C Boatman, S R Hintz, Y E Vaucher, B R Vohr, K Yolton and R J Heyne: A list of members of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network is available in the Supplementary Information.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    A F Duncan

  2. Statistics and Epidemiology Unit, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    C Bann

  3. Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    C Boatman

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    S R Hintz

  5. Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Y E Vaucher

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants’ Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    B R Vohr

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    K Yolton

  8. Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA

    R J Heyne

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  1. A F Duncan
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for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A F Duncan.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Perinatology website

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Duncan, A., Bann, C., Boatman, C. et al. Do currently recommended Bayley-III cutoffs overestimate motor impairment in infants born <27 weeks gestation?. J Perinatol 35, 516–521 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.243

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.243

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