Trajectories of general movements in very preterm infants: An experience from South India, a prospective cohort study

Background and Objectives: The assessment of general movements (GMs), particularly fidgety movements, helps identify preterm infants likely to suffer from Neurodevelopmental deficits; less is known about preterm GMs. This study evaluates the predictive value of preterm GMs for normal fidgety movements. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 131 very preterm infants (gestational age - M (standard deviation) - 29.7 (1.3) weeks) who underwent 3 GM assessments in the preterm period (31–37 weeks postmenstrual age [PMA]), term age (38–44 weeks PMA) and fidgety movement age (48–58 weeks PMA). Results: The sensitivity of preterm GMs in predicting fidgety movements was 67.21%, the specificity was 44.4%, the positive predictive value was 94.25% and negative predictive value was 9.09%. The proportion of abnormal GMs decreased with increasing age, with 33.8% in the preterm age, 20% in the term age, and 7% in the fidgety movement age. Conclusion: This study confirms findings of other studies-specificity values of preterm GMs are poor, implying a high rate of false positives. Preterm GMs may be inadequate in predicting future Neurodevelopmental outcomes.