%0 Journal Article %A Anna C Tottman %A Jane M Alsweiler %A Frank H Bloomfield %A Jane E Harding %A , %T Presence and pattern of scarring in children born very preterm %D 2018 %R 10.1136/archdischild-2016-311999 %J Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition %P F277-F279 %V 103 %N 3 %X The long-term scarring burden of preterm infants undergoing modern neonatal intensive care is not known. This observational cohort study aimed to document the presence and pattern of scarring in children born <30 weeks’ gestation or <1500 g birth weight and cared for at the National Women’s Health neonatal intensive care unit, Auckland, New Zealand. Children were examined at 7 years’ corrected age and the presence, size, number and distribution of scars documented. Scarring was seen in 90% of 129 children assessed, with 81% having multiple scars, 60% having large scars (85% of whom had no history of major neonatal surgery) and 75% having more than one body area scarred. Scarring was more common in boys and in children of non-European ethnicity. Despite modern neonatal intensive care practices, children born very preterm are frequently and extensively scarred at school age. %U https://fn.bmj.com/content/fetalneonatal/103/3/F277.full.pdf