PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Elizabeth S Draper
AU  - Jennifer Zeitlin
AU  - Bradley N Manktelow
AU  - Aurelie Piedvache
AU  - Marina Cuttini
AU  - Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy
AU  - Rolf Maier
AU  - Corine Koopman-Esseboom
AU  - Janusz Gadzinowski
AU  - Klaus Boerch
AU  - Patrick van Reempts
AU  - Heili Varendi
AU  - Samantha J Johnson
ED  - ,
TI  - EPICE cohort: two-year neurodevelopmental outcomes after very preterm birth
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2019-317418
DP  - 2020 Jul 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
PG  - 350--356
VI  - 105
IP  - 4
4099  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/105/4/350.short
4100  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/105/4/350.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2020 Jul 01; 105
AB  - Objective To determine whether the variation in neurodevelopmental disability rates between populations persists after adjustment for demographic, maternal and infant characteristics for an international very preterm (VPT) birth cohort using a standardised approach to neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age.Design Prospective standardised cohort study.Setting 15 regions in 10 European countries.Patients VPT births: 22+0–31+6 weeks of gestation.Data collection Standardised data collection tools relating to pregnancy, birth and neonatal care and developmental outcomes at 2 years corrected age using a validated parent completed questionnaire.Main outcome measures Crude and standardised prevalence ratios calculated to compare rates of moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment between regions grouped by country using fixed effects models.Results Parent reported rates of moderate or severe neurodevelopmental impairment for the cohort were: 17.3% (ranging 10.2%–26.1% between regions grouped by country) with crude standardised prevalence ratios ranging from 0.60 to 1.53. Adjustment for population, maternal and infant factors resulted in a small reduction in the overall variation (ranging from 0.65 to 1.30).Conclusion There is wide variation in the rates of moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment for VPT cohorts across Europe, much of which persists following adjustment for known population, maternal and infant factors. Further work is needed to investigate whether other factors including quality of care and evidence-based practice have an effect on neurodevelopmental outcomes for these children.