Doxapram and developmental delay at 12 months in children born extremely preterm

Aim: To examine the relation of doxapram to a developmental score achieved by a structured telephone interview in a group of extremely-preterm-born children. Methods: Parents of 88 children born extremely preterm were contacted by telephone and interviewed by a structured questionnaire (R-PDQ) when the corrected age of their child was 9–15 mo. Results: We found that doxapram treatment was associated with a deficit in age-adjusted R-PDQ score. Conclusion: Doxapram may have a negative effect on neurodevelopmental outcome.