Cerebral Palsy In Pakistani Children: A Hospital Based Survey

Purpose: The prevalence of cerebral palsy is high in Pakistan, however, it needs to be further explored. This study aimed at assessing clinical presentations and etiological factors among children with cerebral palsy in a Pakistani hospital. Materials and Methods:It was a descriptive case series recruiting 102 children who presented to cerebral palsy rehabilitation clinic of Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Rawalpindi fulfilling the criteria adopted by Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe. Results:Of 102 children, 46 (45.1%) were male and 56 (54.9%) were female with a mean age of 5.6 ± 2.25 years. Spastic cerebral palsy was the commonest presentation (90.2%) mainly presenting as diplegia (33.3%) and quadriplegia (32.4%) followed by atonic, ataxic/mixed and athetoid CP accounting for 3.9%, 3.9%, and 2.0% respectively. Birth asphyxia was the most encountered etiologic factor (32.4%) followed by prematurity (26.5%), kernicterus (12.7%) and meningoencephalitis (10.8%). Spastic quadriplegic and diplegic CP were primarily related to birth asphyxia, hemiplegic, ataxic and mixed CP to prematurity and atonic and athetoid CP to kernicterus. Conclusion:Spastic quadriplegia or spastic diplegia are the commonest presentations in Pakistani children diagnosed with CP. The frequent etiological factors in CP development are birth asphyxia, prematurity, meningoencephalitis and kernicterus.