Predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes for at-risk infants: reliability and predictive validity using a Chinese version of the INFANIB at 3, 7 and 10？months

A Chinese version of the INFANIB was developed. Fifty-five preterm and 49 full-term infants with high risk of neurodevelopmental delays were assessed using the Chinese version of the INFANIB at 3, 7 and 10？months after birth. The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS) was simultaneously used to assess the children with abnormalities and diagnose cerebral palsy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the scale were calculated.At birth, a higher proportion of full-term infants had asphyxia (p？<？0.001), brain damage ( p？=？0.003) and hyperbilirubinemia ( p？=？0.022). The interclass correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient values for the INFANIB at 3, 7 and 10？months were >0.8, indicating excellent reliability with regard to inter- and intraobserver differences. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were high for both high-risk premature infants and full-term infants at the age of 10？months. For premature infants at the age of 7？months or below, INFANIB had low validity for detecting abnormalities.The Chinese version of the INFANIB can be useful for screening infants with high-risk for neuromotor abnormality in Chinese primary care settings.The survival of high-risk infants with premature delivery, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, birth asphyxia, intraventricular hemorrhage or chronic lung diseases has increased significantly through the development of medical technology for perinatal care. In 2010, the World Health Organization reported that the incidence of premature delivery is 10%, and 54% of premature infants are born in Asia [1]. Premature infants comprise a special group of high-risk infants. Their motor development is different from that of healthy full-term infants and their incidence of motor disorders is higher than their incidence of recognition and behavioral disorders [2]. Evidence is growing that the first year of an in