The Joint Observation in Neonatology and Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Preterm Infants at Six Months Corrected Age: Secondary Outcome Data from a Randomised Controlled Trial

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a standardised joint observation (JOIN) performed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on the neurodevelopment of preterm infants at six months corrected age (CA) compared with a preterm control group. In this monocentric interventional randomised controlled trial, we allocated 76 mothers and their preterm neonates to either JOIN, an early one-session intervention, or standard care during the NICU hospitalisation. The neurodevelopment of the preterm infants was assessed by standardised developmental tests at six months CA and compared between the intervention and the control groups. This randomised controlled trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02736136) in April 2016. Sixty-five infants underwent neurodevelopmental assessment at six months CA. There were no significant differences between the two groups in neurodevelopmental outcome measures. The JOIN intervention was not associated with significant improvement in neurodevelopment at six months CA in preterm infants.