Neonatal and Home-Based PT Improves Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Preterm Infants—A Randomized Clinical Trial

Sonia Khurana, Leslie E. Lewis, Daniel M. Russell, Stacey C. Dusing, Bhamini Krishna Rao*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Investigate the effect of structured neonatal physical therapy program (SNP) on neurodevelopmental outcomes of moderate and late preterm (MLP) infants. Methods: Sixty MLP infants were randomly allocated to usual care (UC) or SNP. A previous publication reported the effect of neonatal component of SNP at hospital discharge. This paper examined SNP’s effect on motor, cognitive and language outcomes at 3 and 6 months using a 2-way mixed design ANOVA. Results: Both groups were similar at baseline for motor scores. Infants receiving SNP significantly outperformed UC at all subsequent time points. At 3 and 6 months, SNP significantly outscored UC in cognitive and language outcomes. Conclusion: SNP is effective in improving neurodevelopmental outcomes of MLP infants. However, caution is suggested in interpreting its effect on cognition and language as we lacked baseline scores to compare the longitudinal trajectory.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10.1097/PEP.0000000000001181
JournalPediatric Physical Therapy
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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