Nutritional risk screening and nutritional assessment for children with cerebral palsy: A review of the current research status and future directions.

BACKGROUND

Although the primary impairment involved in Cerebral palsy (CP) is motor function, malnutrition is also common. However, there is a lack of tool recommendations for early malnutrition risk screening in children with CP, and the means of nutritional intervention for children with CP are also limited.

METHODS

This study systematically searched the literature about clinical nutrition related content of cerebral palsy in Pubmed, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library in Jan 2024 and by hand searching, and we checked reference lists and citations to identify additional studies. Search terms include cerebral palsy, children, diagnosis, prediction, malnutrition, nutritional risk screening, nutritional assessment, nutritional support. Additions are marked in red in the modified version.

RESULTS

The timing of diagnosis of CP has been moving forward, and some new diagnostic tools have been developed. Nutritional status is correlated with regional economic level, but there is still a malnutrition rate of nearly 30 % in developed countries. Severe restrictions in terms of gross motor function, swallowing dysfunction, feeding difficulties, cognitive impairment, and insufficient energy intake are common risk factors for malnutrition in children with CP. Z-score should be calculated in combination with measurement indicators in the assessment of physical development of children with CP. The nutritional outcomes of children with CP can be improved by various means, including diversified a Nutrition Support Team (NST) interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of malnutrition in children with CP is high, which needs to be paid more attention. More effective malnutrition risk screening tools need to be developed for children with CP to guide the implementation of comprehensive and personalized nutritional interventions and improve malnutrient-related outcomes.