{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T23:17:23Z","timestamp":1788391043883,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Georg Thieme Verlag KG","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Am J Perinatol"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n The aim of this study was to assess the timing of speech therapy (ST) on the length of stay (LOS) and developmental outcomes at 6 and 12 months in preterm infants.<\/jats:p>\n Infants delivered at 24 to 28 weeks gestational age (GA) who received ST from 2022 to 2025 were enrolled. Analysis comparing postmenstrual age (PMA) at ST initiation determined two cohorts. Demographic, imaging studies, and clinical outcomes were compared between cohorts using R software. Multivariable regression adjusting for comorbidities was analyzed using SAS. p-Value\u2009<\u20090.05 was considered significant.<\/jats:p>\n Eighty-four infants initiated ST\u2009<\u200940 weeks PMA (group A) compared with thirty infants \u2265 40 weeks PMA (group B). Comorbidities including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) were more prevalent in group B (BPD: n\u2009=\u200932, 42.9% group A vs. n\u2009=\u200918, 60.6% group B, p\u2009<\u20090.01; IVH: n\u2009=\u200911, 13.1% group A vs. n\u2009=\u20097, 22.3%, p\u2009<\u20090.01). Group B had more occupational therapy (OT) and ST visits during their hospital stay (OT: 13.2 vs. 20.7, ST: 11.6 vs. 18.2, p\u2009<\u20090.01). Barium swallow studies showed there was less aspiration described in group A (p\u2009<\u20090.01), but no difference in laryngeal penetration (p\u2009=\u20090.14). Group B was tube-fed more often at the 6-month follow-up (n\u2009=\u20098, 10.3% vs. n\u2009=\u200912, 41.4%, p\u2009<\u20090.01) and at the 12-month follow-up (n\u2009=\u200913, 21% vs. n\u2009=\u20098, 66.7%, p\u2009<\u20090.01). Group A had higher developmental scores on their Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at their 12-month follow-up. Group A had a shorter LOS using multivariable linear regression (standard error of the mean: 32.8 [\u2009\u00b1\u200912.2], 95% CI [8.4, 57.7], p\u2009=\u20090.02).<\/jats:p>\n Infants who initiated ST before 40 weeks PMA (group A) had a shorter LOS, decreased risk of aspiration and lower rates of comorbidities during their neonatal intensive care unit stay, and higher ASQ scores at 12 months compared with group B.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2943-4846","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T22:51:36Z","timestamp":1787611896000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Early Speech Therapy Is Associated with Decreased Length of Stay in Preterm Infants <28 Weeks Gestational Age"],"prefix":"10.1055","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1764-7134","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amanda M.","family":"Mosher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Check","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"],"department":["Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaylee","family":"Freid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jessica","family":"Walker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Porcelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"],"department":["Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Parvesh M.","family":"Garg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, United States","place":["Winston-Salem"],"department":["Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"194","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"07","key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"582","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2023.27693","article-title":"Neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants fed donor milk or preterm infant formula: a randomized clinical trial","volume":"331","author":"T T 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