Catch-up growth for the extremely low birth weight infant.

PURPOSE: This retrospective chart review describes the growth of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. DESIGN: A descriptive design was used to collect data from 60 hospital records. RESULTS: Gains were noted between assessment periods (discharge--6 months and 6-12 months) (t = 4.57, t = 5.60, t = 10.77, p < 0.001) for weight, length, and head circumference, respectively. A negative change in weight (z = -1.9; CI = -3.1, -0.66) within the discharge to 6-month assessment period and a positive change in length (z = 0.54, CI = 0.05, 1.04) within the 6 to 12-month assessment were noted. Each assessment was significantly below the 50th percentile of full-term infants with weight at the 7th percentile at 12 months. DISCUSSION: The ELBW infants showed gains relative to the full-term infant but lagged behind on each growth parameter at each assessment.