Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 15, 2026
A Battery of Motor Tests in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Cerebral Palsy
Published on: November 3, 2016
Clinical profile of children with cerebral palsy born term compared with late- and post-term: a retrospective cohort
R Frank1, J Garfinkle2, M Oskoui2,3
1Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) born early/full-term had lower rates of neonatal encephalopathy but higher rates of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia compared to late/post-term births. However, overall CP outcomes were similar between groups.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Perinatal Medicine
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a complex neurological disorder affecting movement and posture.
- Gestational age at birth is a known risk factor for various neonatal complications and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Understanding differences in CP characteristics based on gestational age, particularly around term, is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether risk factors, neurological subtypes, severity, and comorbidities of cerebral palsy differ between children born early/full-term (37-40 weeks) and those born late/post-term (≥41 weeks).
Main Methods:
- A retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry (CCPR) (n=802) of children born at 37 weeks gestation or later.
- Children were categorized into early/full-term (37-40 weeks) and late/post-term (≥41 weeks) groups.
- Comparisons of CP neurological subtype, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) severity, risk factors, and comorbidities were made using chi-square or Fisher's exact tests.
Main Results:
- Children born late/post-term exhibited higher rates of neonatal encephalopathy (33.6% vs 23.9%) and lower rates of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (2.6% vs 10.2%) compared to early/full-term infants.
- Apgar scores at 5 minutes were significantly higher in the early/full-term group.
- No significant differences were observed in CP subtype, GMFCS severity, or comorbidities between the two gestational age groups.
Conclusions:
- While specific neonatal complications like encephalopathy and hyperbilirubinemia differ between early/full-term and late/post-term births in children with CP, the overall clinical outcomes and severity of CP do not significantly vary.
- These findings suggest that factors beyond immediate gestational age at term may play a more significant role in the long-term neurological impact of CP.
Objective:
To determine whether cerebral palsy (CP) risks factors, neurological subtype, severity and co-morbidities differ between early/full-term-born children with CP compared with those born late/post-term.
Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
Children with CP born between 1998 and 2014, residing in Canada, and registered in the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry (CCPR) (n = 1691), a database with information from 15 participating centres across six Canadian provinces.
Population:
Children with CP from the CCPR born at 37 weeks of gestation and later (n = 802).
Methods:
The clinical profile of children with CP born at 37-40 weeks of gestation was compared with those born at 41 weeks and later using the Pearson chi-square test (or Fisher's exact test) for univariate analyses of categorical data. A P value <0.05 was considered significant a priori.
Main Outcome Measures:
CP neurological subtype, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) severity, risk factors and co-morbidities.
Results:
Neonatal encephalopathy was found in 23.9% of children with CP born early/full-term and in 33.6% of those born late/post-term (P = 0.026). Neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia was found in 10.2% of children born in the earlier period and in 2.6% of those born in the later period (P = 0.008). Apgar score at 5 minutes, but not 10 minutes, was significantly higher in the early/full-term group (9) compared with its late/post-term counterpart (7; P = 0.046). Rates of CP subtype, severity (GMFCS) and co-morbidities did not differ significantly between the two gestational periods.
Conclusions:
In children with CP, neonatal encephalopathy was significantly less frequent and neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia was significantly more frequent in those born early/full-term compared with their later-born counterparts. However, clinical outcomes of CP were not significantly different between these two gestational epochs.
Tweetable Abstract:
Children with cerebral palsy born early/full-term have similar outcomes to those born late/post-term.
More Related Videos
08:26Event-related Potentials During Target-response Tasks to Study Cognitive Processes of Upper Limb Use in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy
Published on: January 11, 2016
05:04Enhancing the Development and Growth of Infant Cerebral Palsy Rats Using Selective Spinal Manipulations
Published on: February 2, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:24Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
01:17Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution