Retrospective study of maternal, gestational and labor risk factors for cerebral palsy in the public health system

Abstract

Retrospective study. Objective: Verifying the risk factors for cerebral palsy in the period of 5 years (2010-2014) in the city of Ribeirão Preto - SP, seeking to identify the proportion of children born in the public system who were identified as presenting risk of developmental delays and, among those diagnosed with cerebral palsy, in addition to identifying the most prevalent risk factors and associating them with cerebral palsy diagnosis, thus contributing to the development of local prevention and care strategies in the County. Methodology: Data collection identified infants at risk and maternal, pre and perinatal risks in the records of children who attended the referral service where the final outcome was the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Descriptive analyses and association tests were performed. Results: Of the live births in the period, 23.3% were considered at risk of developmental delay. A total of 481 medical records were analyzed, and in 76.92% there was no information on the mother's previous health and most of them did not plan the pregnancy. About 65% of the children had signs of neurological alterations and 73.4% were discharged from the hospital. Conclusion: The study identified the children who were at risk of delay and verified the most frequent risks and the profile of pre and perinatal characteristics. Due to the number of discharges, it was not possible to verify the outcome, compromising the analysis of association, estimation of cerebral palsy prevalence and a more targeted intervention in the period of major neuroplasticity and better prognosis.