How Do You Diagnose Cerebral Palsy?

Discussion Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as “…a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain.” It is the most common physical disability in childhood. It occurs in 1:500 live births, with a prevalence as high as 2.1 case/ 1000 persons. Most patients are born full term. There are 4 CP types: Spastic Occurs in 85-91% May occur in one or more limbs Unilateral (hemiplegia, 38%), bilateral (diplegia, 37% with lower limbs affected more than upper extremities), and quadriplegia (24%) Dyskinetic Occurs in 4-7% All limbs affected Ataxic Occurs in 4-6% All limbs affected Hypotonic Occurs in 2% All limbs affected Common co-morbities include: Chronic pain (75%) Intellectual disability (49%) Epilepsy (35%) Orthopaedic problems – especially hip dislocations (28%) Behavior problems (26%) Incontinence (~24%) Sleep problems (23%) Sialorrhea (~20%) Blindness, functional (11%) Feed problems (~7%) Hearing impairment (4%) In many CP cases, the cause is not clearly defined but probably is multifactorial with important risk factors. Most patients have prenatal or perinatal risk factors and only 8% have post-natal risk factors. Risk factors can include: Preconception History of stillbirth, miscarriages Multiple birth Low socioeconomic status Assisted reproduction Pregnancy Birth defects Infectio...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news