Early Gross Motor Development Among Brazilian Children with Microcephaly Born Right After Zika Virus Infection Outbreak

ABSTRACT: Objective: To assess the gross motor development of children with presumed congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection over the first 2 years of their lives. Methods: Seventy-seven children were assessed at the median ages of 11, 18, and 24 months, using the evaluative instrument Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66). At the third assessment, the children with diagnoses of cerebral palsy (CP) were classified by severity through the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and stratified by topography indicating the predominantly affected limbs. With these instruments in combination and using the motor development curves as reference, the rate of development and functional ability were estimated. Results: At 2 years of age, all children had the diagnosis of CP. Seventy-four (96.1%) presented gross motor skills similar to those of children aged 4 months or younger, according to the World Health Organization's standard. The GMFM-66 median score among the 73 (94.8%) children with quadriplegia and GMFCS level V showed significant change between 11 and 18 months (p
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics - Category: Child Development Tags: Original Article Source Type: research