Pattern of Presentation and Physiotherapy Approach to Management of Children with Cerebral Palsy at Public Hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) require physiotherapy as part of their habilitation programme. Given scarcity of physiotherapy clinical guidelines for managing CP in Nigeria, it is probable that physiotherapists would adopt management approaches based on individual preferences. The commonly used management approaches by physiotherapists at two purposively selected public-funded hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria were documented in this retrospective study.

METHODS

Information was methodically extracted from the clinic records of children with CP managed over a 5-year period. They include: information concerning the clinical diagnosis; physiotherapy management approach such as techniques, assessment and discharge practice. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Six hundred and ten (610) case files were retrieved. The spastic type of CP was the most prevalent (n = 214; 35.1%;); conventional physiotherapy treatment (n = 344; 56.4%); neurodevelopmental technique (n=185; 30.3%); and the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (n=81; 13.3%) were the treatment approaches. Home programmes were prescribed for the majority (n =520; 85.2%); 555 (90.0%) were not formally discharged; many (n=409; 67.0%) were not reassessed in the course of receiving physiotherapy and those reassessed were done without the use of a standardized outcome measure.

CONCLUSION

Importance of physiotherapy practice guideline in CP is underscored by this report.