For infants born in the contemporary era of neonatal care, little is known about adult mental health outcomes of extremely preterm birth (EP; <28 weeks' gestation) or extremely low birthweight (ELBW; <1000 g). This study aimed to compare attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, mood, and substance use disorder prevalence in young adults born EP/ELBW and normal birthweight (NBW; >2499 g) controls, and to compare change in prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders from 18 to 25 years.

Participants were a prospective geographical cohort of 297 consecutive survivors born EP/ELBW during 1991–1992 and 260 NBW controls. At age 25 years, 174 EP/ELBW and 139 NBW participants completed the Adult ADHD Rating Scale, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised. Data from follow-up at 18 years were also utilized. Multiple imputation was used to account for attrition.

Mental health outcomes at 25 years were similar between groups: prevalence rates were ADHD 7% v. 5%; anxiety 32% v. 27%; mood 38% v. 35%; substance use 12% v. 14% in the EP/ELBW and NBW groups, respectively. In both groups, ADHD declined between 18 and 25 years [odds ratio (OR) per year = 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.79–0.95], and generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode became more common (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10–1.35 per year; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.10–1.30 respectively).

This contemporary EP/ELBW cohort has comparable young adult mental health outcomes to controls, and similar patterns of change in mental health from late adolescence.

Children born very preterm (VP) display altered growth in corticolimbic structures compared with full-term peers. Given the association between the cortiocolimbic system and anxiety, this study aimed to compare developmental trajectories of corticolimbic regions in VP children with and without anxiety diagnosis at 13 years.

MRI data from 124 VP children were used to calculate whole brain and corticolimbic region volumes at term-equivalent age (TEA), 7 and 13 years. The presence of an anxiety disorder was assessed at 13 years using a structured clinical interview.

VP children who met criteria for an anxiety disorder at 13 years (n = 16) displayed altered trajectories for intracranial volume (ICV, p < 0.0001), total brain volume (TBV, p = 0.029), the right amygdala (p = 0.0009) and left hippocampus (p = 0.029) compared with VP children without anxiety (n = 108), with trends in the right hippocampus (p = 0.062) and left medial orbitofrontal cortex (p = 0.079). Altered trajectories predominantly reflected slower growth in early childhood (0–7 years) for ICV (β = −0.461, p = 0.020), TBV (β = −0.503, p = 0.021), left (β = −0.518, p = 0.020) and right hippocampi (β = −0.469, p = 0.020) and left medial orbitofrontal cortex (β = −0.761, p = 0.020) and did not persist after adjusting for TBV and social risk.

Region- and time-specific alterations in the development of the corticolimbic system in children born VP may help to explain an increase in anxiety disorders observed in this population.

The aims of this study were to investigate risk factors for the development of postoperative chylothorax following paediatric congenital heart surgery and to investigate the impact of a management guideline on management strategies and patient outcome.

All patients with chylothorax following cardiac surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, over a 48-month period beginning in January 2008 were identified. A control group, matched for age, date of surgery, and sex, was identified. To investigate potential risk factors, univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were constructed with paired analysis. To examine the effect of a standardised management protocol, data before and after the implementation of the guideline were compared.

In total, 121 cases of chylothorax were identified, with 121 controls, matched for age at surgery, date of surgery, and sex. The incidence of chylothorax was 5.23%. Increasing surgical complexity (univariable OR 0.17 for the least complex versus the most complex group, p=0.02), closed-heart surgeries (OR 0.07 for open versus closed, p<0.001), and redo chest incisions (OR 10.0 for redo versus virgin, p<0.001) were significantly associated with chylothorax. The standardised management protocol had no significant impact on either drainage duration or management strategy.

We have replicated the previously reported association between surgical complexity and chylothorax risk, and have shown, for the first time, that redo chest openings are also associated with a significantly increased risk. The implementation of a standardised management protocol in our institution did not result in a significant change in either chylothorax drainage duration or management strategy.