{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T14:48:06Z","timestamp":1782917286844,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001322","name":"South African Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pediatr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs) are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI). Evidence linking early nutrition and growth to neurodevelopment is largely derived from high-income settings where parenteral nutrition is routine. Data from resource-limited settings using predominantly enteral feeding strategies are limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To describe neurodevelopmental outcomes and post-discharge growth trajectories up to 12 months corrected age and identify associated factors in a predominantly enteral-fed cohort of VLBWIs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa (2021\u20132022). VLBWIs who received predominantly enteral nutrition and attended follow-up were included. Neurodevelopment was assessed using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) at 3, 6, and 12 months corrected age (CA). NDI was defined using age-specific HINE thresholds. Associations between clinical variables and NDI were evaluated using Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and logistic regression.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of 296 infants with follow-up data, 190 (64.2%) attended the 12-month assessment. Most infants had HINE scores within the normal range (mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SD: 75.2\u2009\u00b1\u20097.7), with 5\/190 (2.6%) classified as abnormal. Extrauterine growth restriction was common (33.7%) but was not associated with NDI at 12 months. Late-onset sepsis and metabolic bone disease were associated with increased odds of abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome in unadjusted analyses. In multivariable analysis, these associations persisted, although estimates were imprecise.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this predominantly enteral-fed cohort of VLBWIs, early motor outcomes assessed using the HINE at 12 months corrected age were reassuring despite a high prevalence of EUGR at discharge. Neonatal morbidities, particularly late-onset sepsis and metabolic bone disease, appeared more strongly associated with adverse early neurological outcomes than growth parameters alone. Longer-term follow-up is needed to determine whether later-emerging neurodevelopmental impairments become apparent beyond infancy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2026.1888414","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T13:57:05Z","timestamp":1782914225000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3\u201312 months corrected age in predominantly enteral-fed very low birth weight infants in a resource-limited South African setting"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Muneerah","family":"Satardien","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University","place":["Cape Town, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J. I.","family":"Van Zyl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University","place":["Cape Town, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lizelle","family":"van Wyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University","place":["Cape Town, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Evette","family":"Van Niekerk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Human Nutrition, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University","place":["Cape Town, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mirjam M","family":"Van Weissenbruch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Intensive Care Neonatology, Emma 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