Construction of an Infant Neurological International Battery (Infanib) for the assessment of neurological integrity in infancy.

In this article, we describe the construction of an instrument for the assessment of the neurological integrity of infants. In a follow-up program for infants from the neonatal intensive care unit, 365 evaluations of 308 infants were made by using a 32-item battery with items from four methods. Factor analyses were used for data analyses, which yielded a 20-item instrument with five factors. We named the instrument the Infant Neurological International Battery (Infanib). The Infanib has sufficient reliability for clinical and research purposes. We have formed scoring sheets, which permit clinical use of the instrument. Cut points are recommended for the separation of infants with normal, transiently abnormal, and abnormal neurologic development. The quantified scoring system enables comparison of infants on item scores, subscores (factor scores), and total scores. It also permits entry of these scores in the computer so that more complex descriptions are possible of the relationship of the neurological assessment of infants both to earlier (eg, birth) and later variables (eg, cerebral palsy, cognitive function, and school performance).