Article

Traditionally, cerebral palsy (CP) had been classified according to the
distribution and quality of motor impairment. A standardized functional
classification of gross motor skills has recently been validated -
the Gross
Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The relationship between the
neurological subtype of CP and GMFCS level remains undefined in CP. METHOD: The
Quebec Cerebral Palsy Registry (Registre de la paralysie cerebrale au Quebec
[REPACQ]) over a 4-year birth interval (1999-2002 inclusive) identified 301
children with CP. Information on both CP subtype and GMFCS level was available
for 243 children (138 males, 105 females) with final data extraction at a mean
age of 44 months (SD 14mo, range 24-79mo). Proportions of children with a
particular CP subtype at GMFCS levels I to III versus levels IV to V were
determined and compared. RESULTS: CP subtype versus GMFCS levels I to III or IV
to V was distributed proportionally as follows:
spastic diplegic, 51/52 (98%)
versus 1/52 (2%); spastic quadriparetic, 20/85 (24%) versus 65/85 (76%); spastic
hemiplegic, 76/77 (99%) versus 1/77 (1%); dyskinetic, 4/16 (25%) versus 12/16
(75%); other (triplegic or ataxic-hypotonic), 10/13 (77%) versus 3/13 (23%).
These distributions (proportions) all yielded significant (p<0.001) Pearson
chi(2) values. INTERPRETATION: Neurological subtype is a powerful predictor of
functional status related to ambulation. This has implications for counseling families.

Langue : ANGLAIS