Visual Impairment and Functional Classification in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor impairment in childhood and often accompanied by a broad spectrum of comorbidities. Data are sparse concerning visual impairment (VI) and functional classification among CP children. Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of VI among children with CP and to investigate a possible association between VI and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and the Bimanual Fine Motor Function (BFMF). Methods In this hospital-based study, records of 200 children with CP aged 2 to 17 years were reviewed. Results Overall, VI was found in 59.5% of children with CP. Prevalence of VI was higher when compared with non-CP children. A correlation between GMFCS as well as BFMF and severity of VI was found. Children with severe CP were at greater risk for severe VI, especially cerebral VI compared with children with mild CP. Conclusion VI is a significant problem in children with CP and is correlated with motor function. Children with CP should undergo detailed ophthalmologic and orthoptic assessment to enable early intervention.

Euterpe music therapy method for children with cerebral palsy

“…In this context, multisensory stimulation interventions may improve sensory and motor function ( 2 ). A systematic literature review found that visual-perceptual impairment ranged from 40% to 50% in children with CP ( 3 ), as also confirmed by Rauchenzauner et al ( 4 ), who found visual-perceptual impairment in 59.5% of them. Novak also reports that 4% of children with CP have severe hearing problems or are deaf ( 5 ).…”

Anterior segment indices in mentally retarded children

“…In addition, cases with moderate mental retardation had higher index of surface variance, index of vertical asymmetry, index of height asymmetry, and index of height decentration than those with mild mental retardation. Other ocular problems such as vision disorders, strabismus and retinal problems have already received attention in these children 6 , 21 , 22 . Our finding indicates the necessity of more attention to CP children and children with more severe mental retardation in terms of keratoconus indicators 23 .…”

Prevalence and types of strabismus in cerebral palsy: A global and historical perspective based on a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…We also excluded reviews only, case studies, abstracts at meetings when later published as a peer-reviewed paper, and papers focused on surgical outcomes. We included 54 studies on Caucasians (most of them in Europe, North America and Australia), 9,10,14,36–42,44,48–53,64–101 11 studies from the Middle East, 5,16,23,102–109 9 on Hispanics (most of them from Latin America), 15,110–117 41 from East Asia, 12,13,43,46,56,58,118–152 23 from South Asia, 33,35,45,47,54,57,153–169 and 5 from Africa 11,170–174 (Supplemental Table 1).…”

“…3,5,37,38,45,46,48,58,70,115,153,159,[198][199][200][201][202] Relatively few authors disagree with this conclusion. 39,74,101 Some authors noted that strabismus is most frequent in spastic tetraplegia (or triplegia) and somewhat less in diplegia, still less in hemiplegia, and rare in athetoid or ataxic CP, 5,11,36,39,40,45,47,64,70,101,105,149,163 while others disagree with this notion. 15,[41][42][43]52,56,67,78,100,111,203 Authors concur that there is no association between the type of strabismus (esotropia, exotropia, hypertropia) and the type of CP.…”