734 - ePIPARI as a digital tool to follow up preterm infants up to 24 months of corrected age

Publication Number: 2716.734

Liisa Lehtonen, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland; Tiina M. Saarinen, Children's Hospital, Paimio, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland; Riikka Korja, Turku University, Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland; Suvi Stolt, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Kanta-Hame, Finland; Helena Ollila, University of Turku, Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland; Milla Ylijoki, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland

Background: ePIPARI is a digital tool on a web-based platform to complement the clinical follow-up of preterm infants and their families.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of ePIPARI in the follow-up of preterm infants and its accuracy to identify children and parents in a need of clinical interventions such as physiotherapy, nutritionist consultation, speech therapist consultation due to eating/feeding problems, and concerns of early speech and language development.

Design/Methods: 113 premature born infants ( < 34 weeks of gestation) from 102 families were recruited to the ePIPARI-study comparing ePIPARI with the routine clinical follow-up at the Turku University Hospital during years 2019-2025. ePIPARI included eight assessment points (at term age and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months of corrected age). In ePIPARI, parents filled in questionnaires regarding their own well-being as well as the health and growth, eating and feeding, and neurodevelopment of their child. Responses of ePIPARI were classified using a traffic light model (green-yellow-red) for motor development and using threshold values for typical development and concern regarding growth and behavior.

Results: The completion rate of ePIPARI was over 70% for up to 4 months, 50 to 60% at 8-12 months of age, and 41% at 24 months of age. The number and percentages of completed questionnaires and accuracy in identifying the need of interventions are shown in Figure 1 and Table 1.

Conclusion(s): A web-based follow-up tool, ePIPARI, was shown to be sensitive in detecting needs for interventions and therefore it is a promising tool to complement clinical follow-up.

The number and percentages of completed questionnaires at different age points. The percentages are reported in relation to the number of questionnaires sent to parents (n).
Figure PAS.pdf

ePIPARI’s accuracy in identifying the concerns/the need for interventions compared to clinical follow-up at different age points. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.
Table PAS.pdf