IN CLOSING
The long-term prognosis of an infant does not always correlate to the neurologic exam. It's important to remember that these reflexes can vary with the examiner's experience as well as the alertness of the infant. To determine an abnormal reflex, one must make sure it is reproducible upon multiple examinations. Also, multiple reflex abnormalities are more likely to indicate disease than an isolated finding. Lastly, other parts of the neurologic exam must be taken into consideration - such as the general appearance of the infant, its behavior, cranial nerves testing, sensory evaluation, and motor evaluation.
