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Frônio J.S.1, Bernardo L.H.2,3, Marinho A.T.3, Silva A.J.3
1Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Juiz de Fora, Brazil, 2Centro Universitário Estácio de Sá, Juiz de Fora, Brazil, 3Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
Background: Child development is the result of the interaction between intrinsic factors, such as biological factors and the organism itself, and extrinsic factors, such as social and environmental issues.
Purpose: The aims of this study were to verify if the motor performance at the discharge from the NICU is associated with the motor development from two to six months of age and the predictive power and the best cut-off point of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) for these ages.
Methods: The sample consisted of 51 infants (18 females and 33 males). Participants were assessed at discharge from the NICU with the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and followed by Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), from two to six months of corrected age. For statistical analysis, it was used non-parametric tests: Chi-square and Mann-Whitney.
Results: About the motor performance on the TIMP at discharge from the NICU, considering the −0,5 SD cut-off point, 54,9% of the sample had altered classification, considering the -1 SD and -2 SD cut-off points, respectively, 39,2% e 9,8% had this classification. Most infants of the sample had performance below the 30th centile in the AIMS from 2 to 6 months of age, and it was also found a high rate of altered classifications at these ages (between 18 and 25%). Significant association were found between the classification on the TIMP (normal and altered groups) and the AIMS percentile in the fifth (p = 0.012) and sixth months (p = 0.009), with values higher than 72% in specificity, accuracy and negative predictive value in all studied months, when considering the -2 SD cut-off points on the TIMP.
Conclusion(s): It was concluded that the most participants had low performance on the AIMS from two to six months of corrected age and that a normal performance on the TIMP at the discharge from the NICU seems to be a strong evidence that the infant will present appropriate motor development on the first six months of life. Regarding the TIMP predictive power, the best cut-off point, that allowed the highest number of correct classifications, was -2 SD.
Implications: The TIMP is a good test/tool to be used at the discharge from de NICU and a normal performance seems to be a strong evidence that the infant will have a normal motor development in the first six months of life.
Funding acknowledgements: PROPESQ- UFJF
Topic: Paediatrics
Ethics approval: Project approved by the Ethics in Research Committee of the UFJF on june, 18, 2009 (protocol: 121/2009 ).
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
