Premium
Characteristics of children with cerebral palsy in the ORACLE children study
Author(s) -
MARLOW NEIL,
PIKE KATIE,
BOWER EVA,
BROCKLEHURST PETER,
JONES DAVID,
KENYON SARA,
KURINCZUK JENNIFER J,
TAYLOR DAVID,
SALT ALISON
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04274.x
Subject(s) - prom , cerebral palsy , medicine , pediatrics , confidence interval , gestation , gross motor function classification system , motor impairment , population , pregnancy , obstetrics , physical therapy , environmental health , biology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , genetics
Aims We have identified an excess of children with cerebral palsy (CP) born to women who received antibiotic treatment for spontaneous preterm labour (SPL). This nested study investigated the profile of impairment among children with CP in the ORACLE Children Study (OCS), and contrasted outcomes with those in 4 Child, a population CP registry. Method The study group comprised 167 children aged from 7 to 10 years (100 males, 67 females) with CP from the OCS, who were subdivided into a preterm rupture of membranes (PROM) group (87 children) and an SPL group (80 children). The OCS sought follow‐up information regarding the health and behaviour of surviving children at 7 years of age in the UK using a parent‐report postal questionnaire. Families provided further information to define wider aspects of function and were offered a physiotherapy assessment. Results The prevalence of CP was higher among children in the OCS than among those in 4 Child (standardized morbidity ratios: SPL group, 3.12 [95% confidence interval CI 2.47–3.87); PROM group: 1.56 (CI 1.24–1.92)]. The proportion of children with CP born after 32 weeks of gestation was higher in in the SPL group (73%) than in the PROM group (30%); the prevalence of CP was higher in the SPL group than in the PROM group or 4 Child. Children with CP in the OCS tended to have similar distributions of neuroimpairment as children in 4 Child, but motor impairment and associated vision and hearing problems were found to be less severe. Interpretation The pattern of CP in both the PROM and the SPL groups was similar, but functional outcomes were milder, compared with children with CP in the general population. However, in these groups the risk of CP was increased independently of gestational age. This is consistent with findings that ongoing inflammatory damage can cause CP.