ABSTRACT
Since the early studies that documented development in infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a number of significant changes have ensued to alter our perspectives on their neurodevelopmental outcomes. Survival rates of earlier born and medically more complex infants, enhanced technological and pharmacological treatment modalities, utilization of early and comprehensive developmental assessment, and even the working definition of BPD have changed. In 1992, Bregman and Farrell (1) reviewed neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with BPD and stated:
It appears that the survivor of BPD is at risk for neurodevelopmental compromise, but not necessarily to any greater extent than are prematurely born infants in general. (p. 691)
However, in a more recent review of current research on neurodevelopmental outcomes, Anderson and Doyle (2) stated:
Children born preterm are vulnerable for long-term cognitive, educational and behavioral impairments but research clearly demonstrates that BPD is an additional risk factor which exacerbates these problems. (p. 227)
Early measurement of neurodevelopmental outcomes focused primarily on neurosensory, cognitive, and motor outcomes; however, a wider perspective on how to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes has evolved to include not only those more commonly studied domains but also communication, psychological, socioemotional, learning, executive, and adaptive functioning; in essence, areas that contribute to children’s daily activities, learning, and quality of life. The impact of the family’s socioeconomic resources and the parent’s education contribute to outcomes of these already medically and developmentally compromised infants, further complicating our understanding of how many of these infants fare neurodevelopmentally as they grow into early childhood, school age, and adolescence (3).
