Early Intervention in the Neurodevelopment of Premature Infants during the First Six Months of Life

Objective: Measure the effects of Early Intervention ad modum Katona (EI-K) in high-risk premature infants by means of clinical, neurobehavioral, and neurophysiologic tests. Method: We used the Amiel-Tison neurologic examination, the Bayley Scale of Infant Behavior, and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings at 42 weeks of conceptional age, and after 6 months of treatment EI-K (n = 14) and compared these results with those of a group of infants without early intervention (nEI) (n = 11). Results: We found better performance of infants in EI-K than nEI group after 6 months of treatment in neurologic and behavioral examination measurements, but found no differences in EEG comparisons. Conclusion: Our data suggest significant benefit of the use of EI-K program over n-EI in the neurologic and neurobe-havior examinations of premature infants after 6 months of age.