Epidemiological, clinical, and treatment-related features of children with cerebral palsy in Cameroon: A hospital-based study

Pediatric cerebral palsy (CP) remains a poorly studied public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Cameroon. This study aimed at determining the epidemiological, clinical, and treatment-related characteristics of CP in Cameroonian children. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the pediatric department of the Douala Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital (DGOPH). Medical records of children attending the department during the study period were reviewed. Only medical records of children aged from 3 months to 15 years and diagnosed with CP were included. Parents/guardians of children presenting with CP were contacted and invited to come with their children to the DGOPH where they were examined by a pediatric neurologist. A questionnaire designed for the study was used to collect sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical, and treatment data for each child. Out of the 4064 medical records reviewed, CP was diagnosed in 198 children (4.86%). These children were predominantly male (53.6%), aged 3-24 months (54.0%). Perinatal disorders were the main CP etiologies, especially neonatal asphyxia (55.1%), jaundice (32.8%), and neonatal infections (25.8%). Most of the children were born at term (81.6%) and by vaginal delivery (62.6%), with a normal birth weight (83.2%). Several comorbidities were found including speech delay (74.2%) and epilepsy (34.4%). The patients with CP presented predominantly with the spastic form of the disease, especially spastic quadriplegia (44.3%). Less than half of the children were managed at hospital, while the majority of parents were following various traditional treatments. Addressing preventable causes of CP and improving awareness in the population will be of great help to reduce CP in Cameroon.