Cerebral palsy among Iraqi children : case-series study

Abstract EN

Background Cerebral palsy is defined as any non-progressive central motor deficit dating to events in the prenatal or perinatal periods.

It is one of the most common crippling conditions of childhood, and is not a specific disease but a group of disorders of varied causes.

There is little epidemiological data from developing countries; the prevalence is around 2 / 1000 live births in most developed countries.

Objectives To describe the epidemiologic distribution of the cerebral palsy cases, its different types and associated abnormalities with determination of common conditions reported with those cases.

Patients and Methods This is a case-series descriptive study conducted in the Specialized Center of Medical Rehabilitation in Baghdad (Sadir Al Kanat) on 60 children with cerebral palsy who were attending that center from June 2004 - May 2005 inclusive.

Results The present study revealed that the male: female ratio was 1.5:1.

Prolonged & vaginal labor were the most frequently reported perinatal conditions (53.4%& 66.6% respectively); while neonatal jaundice and/or kernicterus with cyanosis and/or asphyxia were the main postnatal reported conditions (46.6% and 31.7% respectively).

Spastic cerebral palsy was found to be the most common type (76.7%).

Hearing, visual and dental problems were the most frequent associated complications (65%, 56.7%, and 53.3% respectively).

There was higher proportion of cerebral palsy in children from consanguine parents (58.3%).

Conclusions and Recommendations All the associated perinatal and postnatal conditions suggest that good prenatal, natal and early neonatal care can prevent the occurrence of a high proportion of cerebral palsy cases.

There is a need for enhancing health education directed both at mothers and at the general public with promotion of maternal child health services in Iraq.