Cerebral Palsy Flashcards
What do all CP patient have in common?
Physical disability
What is CP?
Any permanent disorder of movement and posture that isn’t due to a progressive neurological condition and occurs before the age of 5
What deficits often accompany motor deficits in CP?
Visual (40%) Hearing (3-10%) Speech and language Epilepsy Cognitive impairment
How do CP patients often present?
- Delayed milestones - sitting, standing, walking
- Asymmetric motor patterns - particularly arm predominance
- Abnormalities of muscle tone - particularly spasticity or hypotonia
- Mx problems - eg difficultly feeding or irritability
How might you Ix CP of unknown cause?
Urine/Plasma metabolic screen
Consider congenital infections
Chromosomal analysis
MRI
What are some common medical issues related to CP?
Medical
- Vision/hearing deficits
- Epilepsy
- Failure to thrive
- Osteoporosis
- GORD
- Incontinence
- Chronic aspiration
Surgical
- Contractures
What are some management option for spasticity?
- Oral medications - diazepam, baclofen, dantrolene sodium
- Inhibitory casts
- Botulinum toxin A
- Intrathecal baclofen
- Selective dorsal rhizotomy
What is baclofen?
A CNS depressant used as a skeletal muscle relaxant
- GABA agonist
What is the role of non-medical staff in CP?
Physio - LL focus, positioning, help oppose spasticity, provide aids
OT - UL focus
SP - Help facilitate communication
What are some common causes of ED presentations?
Aspiration pneumonia
Seizures, statis epilepticus
Unexplained irritability - infection, MSK
What is Phalen McDermid syndrome?
A rare genetic disorder caused by chromosome 22q13 deletion characterised by
- Global developmental delay
- Absent/delayed speech
- Intellectual disability
- Hypotonia
What are the patterns of motor deficit seen in CP?
Quadriplegia
Hemiplegia
Diplegia
Monoplegia
