Risk factors and comorbidities in cerebral palsy patients aged 6 months to under 5 years

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Rheumatology, El Minia Faculty of medicine

2 Department of Rehumatology, El-Minia Faculty of Medicine

3 Department of Pediatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Minia

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most widespread childhood motor disability. This study aimed to determine the risk factors and comorbidities associated with CP in children aged 6 months to under 5 years.

Patients and Methods: The study included 44 children with CP. A detailed history of antenatal, natal, and postnatal events was taken, a thorough physical, developmental, and neurological examination was performed, and a clinical assessment of comorbidities was carried out.

Results: Hypotonic CP is the commonest type of CP. Muscle strength assessed by the MRC scale ranged from 30 to 60 with a mean of 37.43 (SD: ± 11.92). 34.1 % of patients had at least one risk factor, 61.4% had multiple risk factors, and 4.5% had unidentified risk factors. The majority of children had natal and postnatal risks (77.3%, and 47.7% respectively). Admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and cesarean section delivery are the most common natal risk factors (56.8% for both), followed by low birth weight (43.2%). Intellectual disability was the commonest comorbidity in 95.5% of patients (43.2% had mild form, and 52.3% had severe form) followed by musculoskeletal disorders and epilepsy in 63.6% and 15.9% respectively.

Conclusion: The most common risk factors in children with cerebral palsy include natal and postnatal different factors, while the most common comorbidity is intellectual disability followed by musculoskeletal disorders and epilepsy. There is a need for longitudinal studies that would assess comorbidities over time for patients with CP.

Keywords: Cerebral palsy, Risk factors, Comorbidities, Motor impairment

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Minia Journal of Medical Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 13 November 2023

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