Growth of adecuate and small for gestational age very low birth weight infants Crecimiento en dos años de niños de muy bajo peso de nacimiento, adecuados y pequeños para la edad gestacional

Abstract

Height, weight and head circumference growth palerns were recorded to 284 very low birth weight infants, 164 ooecucte [AGE) and 120 small (SGE) for gestational age, coming from medium-Sow income families and folloxved up along the first two years of life at Santiago, Chile, in order to identify early hints of future growth and nutritional states, T-e AEG infanrs had lower gestational age (28.92 ± 1.5 vs. 31 .86 ± 2.0 weeks, p< 0.05) and longer time under mechanical ventilation (5.01 ± 9.33 vs. 1.73 ± 4,84 days, p < 0.05) and oxygen therapy [15.2 ± 21 .8 vs. 6.72 ± 14.18 days, p < 0.05) than SGE. At 18 months of corrected age 5.2% of AGE and 15,4% of SGE infants had Z score for weight under -2 by NHCS standards. Both AGE and SGE infants showed higher weight Z scores, out of oropcrtion ro height increase, in the first six posnatal months. Thereafter proportional increases of weight and height Z scores were observed. SGE infants showed a catch up type of growth, which was also earlier (fi