Validation of an Early Screen for Cerebral Palsy

摘要

)The objective of the prospective longitudinal study was to validate the effectiveness of a 2-stage clinical screen for cerebral palsy (CP) in a cohort of six-month old infants referred for developmental evaluation. Ninety-nine infants referred for developmental examination were administered the screen at six months of age. Of these, 92 (92%) were re-evaluated at age 15-18 months by a different examiner to determine the presence or absence of CP and, if present, its type and severity. The screen applied at six-months, identified CP at 18 months with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 78% (47/60). The sensitivity was greatest for infants who developed moderate to severe CP (94%) and those who developed extrapyramidal CP (100%) or spastic quadriplegia (83%). Sensitivity was poorest for those developing only mild CP (56%).