Follow up of the premature/very premature in Primary Care

Given that prematurity is one of the principal health problems in developed countries, the aim of this workshop is to provide the Primary Care team with the knowledge and the tools necessary to be able to be responsible, jointly and coordinating with the Hospital team, for follow up programs of children with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks or with a birth weight of less than 1500 g. To do this, the Primary Care paediatrician must know what is the usual development in these children, the characteristics of their progress, the variations within normal that can be seen, the problems that can occur, and the alarm signs that may help to identify them early. You must ensure that these children are in a follow up program – which ideally is extended until adolescence – and that they attend reviews. Support must also be provided for the family and avoid repeating unnecessary tests. Multiple screening and recommendations are included in follow up programs, with the purpose of improving the progress of the children in the medium to long term.

We recommend reading the complete text of the “Preventive Activities Program and health promotion for premature children with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks or a birth weight of less than 1500 g. From hospital discharge to 7 years old" by C. Pallás Alonso for PrevInfad, on which this workshop and text is based. (Available at: www.aepap.org/previnfad/pdfs/previnfad_menor32-1500.pdf).