Clinical Profile, Associated Co-morbidities and Risk Factors of Cerebral Palsy in Children in Sohag, Egypt

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders of movement and
posture resulting from a non-progressive lesion to an immature brain. Objective: is to
identify the prevalent subtypes, associated co-morbidity and risk factors of CP among
children less than 12 years in Sohag, Egypt. Method: a case control study was conducted
where 122 cases of CP attending the neuropediatric clinic of Sohag University Hospital
were compared to age and sex matched control group (280 normal children) as regard
history of prenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors of CP. Data related to the subtype
and associated co-morbidity were also collected from the studied cases of CP. Results:
Among the studied cases of CP, 45% had quadriplegia, 9.8% and 6.5% had hemiplegia
and paraplegia respectively. 77.8% had spastic CP and 65% had hypertonia. 65% of cases
had intellectual sub-normality, 29.5% of cases had epilepsy, 25% and 15% of cases had
visual and hearing impairment respectively and 23.3% of the cases suffered from
contracture. History of perinatal asphyxia and post natal encephalitis were the only
detected significant risk factors for CP. Conclusion: The most common type of CP
detected in our locality was severe spastic (hypertonic) quadriplegia level IV, these
findings were attributed to the most common risk factors of CP in our locality which were
hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy and CNS infections. Appropriate screening and
management of co-morbidities especially vision, hearing and seizures, improve the overall
prognosis in cases of CP.