[Cerebral distress in full-term newborns: method of early prognosis of the quality of long-term survival].

A study on 122 full-term newborns with cerebral distress has given the basis for a mathematical model allowing to calculate the risk of poor evolution due to neurological disorders occurring in the first week of life. For each patient a score on his neurological status is established at 3 or 7 days of age. Only four essential neurological characteristics have to be considered: primary reflexes, convulsions, apathy or swallowing disorders, respiratory disorders. All possible score combinations are listed, and each of them is associated with a risk factor (in percent) for poor evolution. A long-term prognosis can therefore be obtained by simple clinical observation, making a score and consulting the list.