Prevalence, Types, and Outcomes of Cerebral Palsy at a Tertiary Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 8; p. e27716
• Main Authors: Al-Jabri, Basma A, Al-Amri, Alia S, Jawhari, Abdulkarim A, Sait, Raghad M, Talb, Reham Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 05.08.2022; Cureus
• Subjects: Births; Cerebral palsy; Cohort analysis; Congenital diseases; Convulsions & seizures; Data analysis; Epilepsy; Etiology; Neurological disorders; Neurology; Ostomy; Paralysis; Patients; Pediatrics; Spasticity; Saudi Arabia; Riyadh Saudi Arabia
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.27716

Background: In developed countries, cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common neurological disorder in children. It is defined as a non-progressive disturbance to the developing brain leading to motor impairment that affects the child’s activity. CP is classified into three main subtypes: ataxic, spastic, and mixed. Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CP and its subtypes in a single tertiary center located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Method: This retrospective record review study included 98 patients diagnosed with CP from 2004 to 2019. Data were extracted from the hospital medical record and assessed using various tools. Result: The total number of patients was 98, with an estimated CP prevalence of 1.6 per 1000 lives. Most of the patients (74.8%) had spastic CP subtype, and 54.8% had quadriplegia. The mean age of the live children was 7.45 ± 3.76 years. Moreover, gastrostomy was the most favorable feeding method. Conclusion: The prevalence of CP is almost equivalent to the national and worldwide figures. Spastic CP has the highest rates. Furthermore, the male gender has been identified as a significant risk factor for CP in the local community.