Early detection of developmental delay in infants born very preterm or with very low birthweight.

The final analysis included 79 children, and only five had developmental delay, so estimates of diagnostic accuracy had wide confidence intervals. Twenty-four percent were lost to follow-up at 24 months corrected age, although the paper reports no major differences between those who remained and those lost. Families had to speak English and live within 100 kilometres of a hospital, and infants with major congenital or chromosomal abnormalities were excluded, so results may not apply to all very preterm infants. The Bayley-III may not accurately identify infants at risk of developmental delay, and it was the only measure used for cognitive delay, so some cognitive deficits may have been missed. The proposed movement trajectory classification was derived from these data and has not been tested in an independent sample. The study was observational, so it shows associations between early movement patterns and later delay, not that any treatment based on these assessments improves outcomes.

Funding was provided by the Allied Health Professions' Office of Queensland Health Practitioner Grant Scheme, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and Wishlist Sunshine Coast Hospital Foundation. The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest statement.

Do not conclude that non-continuous fidgety movements at 16 weeks corrected age mean a child has developmental delay. The study found an association, not a diagnosis, and only five of 79 children had developmental delay, with wide confidence intervals.