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To study comorbidities in children with cerebral palsy (CP).Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of four months, from December 10, 2019 to March 24, 2020 in 88 children with CP aged 6 months to 15 years without other associated chronic pathologies. All data were collected through parental interviews, medical records and physical examination. To assess motor impairment, Gross Motor Function Classification System score (GMFCS) was used. The association between the etiologies of CP, the types of CP, the level of disability and comorbidities were analysed. Results:The most common morbidity of CP was intellectual impairment in 84 (95.5%), microcephaly in 66 (75%), epilepsy in 61 (69.3%) and nutritional disorders in 48 (54.6%) of which 40 (83.3%) of the patients had stunting, 36 (75%) were underweight, 9 (18.75%) were acutely malnourished and 3 (6.2%) were obese. Digestive disorders were seen in 33 cases of which 31 (93.9%) had constipation, 13 (39.39%) had dysphagia, 6 (18.2%) had gastroesophageal reflux and 22 (66.7%) had oro-facial dyspraxia. Visual impairment was present in 18 cases of which strabismus was present in 10 (55.5%), nystagmus in 6 (33.3%) and blindness in 7 (38.9%) children. Respiratory tract infections were present in 17 (19.3%), urinary tract infections were present in 8 (9%). Orofacial dyspraxia [OR=4.93(95% CI 1.74-13.94)] and nutritional disorders [OR=7.2 (95% CI (2.65-19.57)] were associated with GMFCS V. Intellectual impairment was mild in GMFCS I and severe in GMFCS V (p=0.001). Those with a GMFCS II ] were more likely to have a respiratory infection. Conclusion:Cerebral palsy is associated with higher prevalence of comorbidities. Improved preventive strategy through adequate perinatal care may reduce incidence of CP.

Premature infants are at risk for developmental delay. We assessed the psychomotor development of children born before 37 weeks of gestation. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Pediatric Department of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital from January to May 2018. We used the Denver II scale to assess the psychomotor development of children born premature aged 9 months to 6 years. Children born between January 2012 and April 2017 at a gestational age strictly below 37 weeks of gestation were included. Using logistic regression, we searched for perinatal factors associated with abnormalities of psychomotor developmental. Results: We included 50 children in our study, 60% of whom were boys, giving a sex ratio of 1.5. The mean age was 25 ± 19.5 months. The mean gestational age was 33 ± 2.2 weeks and the mean birth weight was 2178.68 ± 748.01 g. The average Developmental Quotient of the population was 108. Six children (12%) had a global developmental delay (DQ < 70), 22% of the children had a language delay. Convulsion was associated with motor delay (OR = 16; P = 0.03), and pregnancy monitoring a protective factor for language delay (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Improving perinatal care remains a preoccupying issue. The assessment of psychomotor development should be done until early childhood to enable early diagnosis of learning disabilities.

Confinement and social distancing have been widely used in the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, as interventions consisting in reducing physical contact between individuals to prevent the spread of the disease. In order to demonstrate the pattern of these measures, we did a review of pertinent articles on the subject available online. We found that though confinement and social distancing significantly contributed to the mitigation of the COVID-19 infection in a number of countries worldwide, there however exist a dilemma in choosing between the expected benefits and adverse effects, especially when applied on a large scale. Thus considerations with regards to socio-anthropological and politico-economic impacts should be considered in order to protect citizens, especially the vulnerable. Besides, population information, education and communication helps to increase adherence and observation of recommendations. However, further improvements need to be implemented in other to render these measures more bearable and less restrictive while ameliorating their efficacy.

Aim:To evaluate the quality of life of epileptic children. Methods and Material:This descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken from 1st January 2014 to 1st May 2014 in children aged 3-16 years with epilepsy who followed up in the pediatric neurology unit of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital in Yaounde in Cameroon. Parents responded to the quality of life questionnaire for children with epilepsy, Results: Eighty-six patients with a mean age of 8.8 ± 4.2 years were included in the study. Epilepsy was associated with poor quality of life in 18 (20.9%) patients and was mainly in children with non-idiopathic generalized epilepsy, behavioral disorders, and cognitive deficits. Social, behavioral, cognitive and depressive disorders were noted in 43 (50%), 17 (19.8%), 23 (26.7%) and 55 (63.9%), respectively. In 17 (19.8%) children, clinical examination was abnormal. Twenty (23%) children were not attending school. Conclusion:Epileptic children have a decline in their quality of life, and this is multifactorial, and controlling epileptic seizures alone does not appear to be a sufficient factor to improve the quality of life of these children.

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