Evaluation of associated complications and pathologies in rehabilitation process of CP children

Introduction . Respecting the 1992 definition of Mutch[1], cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term, and the definition from 2007 [2] proposed also some explanations for the other problems then the neuromotor ones that we can encounter to the CP child and that can modify the prognosis and the objectives of therapy. Objectives. The study aim is to underline the importance for rehabilitation of the associated complication in CP case management. Methods. It was conducted a complex and interdisciplinary evaluation (medical, psychological and social) of a representative group of 81 cerebral palsied children. Results. The prevalence of alimentary disorders (47% affected children), the anthropometric scores to appreciate the nutritional status, also the presence of epilepsy (for 43 cases we noticed seizures and 26 cases developed epilepsy, with a prevalence of 32.1%), visual problems (for the study group the incidence was 18.5%), hearing (the hearing disturbances were presented for 2.5% of cases) or language disturbances (retard in the apparition of speech for 49.4% cases and pronunciation disturbances for 6.2%) or IQ scores (38 children presented a mental delay, associated specially with the tetraparesis and paraparesis forms of CP). All the scores were compared with the normal established reference values for the normal child with the same age. Conclusions. In the rehabilitation of the CP child it is important also to establish that are many others disturbances that can change the prognosis and objectives of the rehabilitation treatment. References : Mutch LW Alberman E. HagbergB, Kodama K, Velickovic MV.Cerebral palsy epidemiology: where are we now and where are we going?. Dev Med ChildNeurol 1992; 34: 547-555. Multiple Authors. The Definition andClassification of Cerebral Palsy. Dev. Med Child Neurol. 2007 Feb; 49(s109):1-44