Is Spastic Cerebral Palsy Common? Clinical Profile of Neuro-Motor Development: An Observational Study

Abstract

According to different studies conducted in the world, the most common neuro developmental disorders are CP, intellectual disability; communication disorders, autism spectrum disorder; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; neurodevelopmental motor disorders, which spastic cerebral palsy is the most common physiological type of CP. But this physiological type of CP is likely to be different in developing countries like India, where the leading cause is birth asphyxia, seizures, low birth weight, and hyper-bilirubinemia. However, the data from our country is scant. Objectives of the study were to check the tone in children with neurodevelopmental disorders by using an objective tool called HAT, to classify children on HAT, and to document the risk factors associated with NDD. One hundred children with NDD visiting tertiary care hospital were evaluated using HAT and other scales like Modified Modified Ashworth Scale, Movement Disorder Childhood Rating Scale, and the functional level was assessed using GMFM 66 and GMFCS level. Out of 100 children, the most common muscle tone was mixed CP (<i>n</i> = 63) followed by spastic CP (<i>n</i> = 32). The most common cause for mixed type was birth asphyxia (<i>n</i> = 32), for spastic type it was preterm birth (<i>n</i> = 12). Mixed CP was the most common type of tone in children with neurodevelopmental disorders when assessed on HAT. CP was the most common medically diagnosed condition and in them birth asphyxia, neonatal seizures, low birth weight, and neonatal jaundice. Preterm deliveries were the common factors or causes.