Nutritional interventions in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature in search of the most suitable and effective nutritional interventions and indications for the nutritional treatment of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). DATA SOURCE: This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The articles were selected from seven databases (Cochrane, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde — Lilacs, Embase, United States National Library of Medicine — PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online — SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science). Studies from a pediatric group (0 to 18 years old) diagnosed with CP were included and the search strategy included the descriptors: “children” OR “childhood” AND “nutritional therapy” OR “nutritional intervention” OR “nutrition” OR “nutritional support” OR “diet” AND “cerebral palsy” OR “cerebral injury”. Methodological quality was assessed using the checklist for cross-sectional analytical studies, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale or the Cochrane Collaboration tool for clinical trials. DATA SYNTHESIS: Fifteen studies (n=658) published from 1990 to 2020 met the inclusion criteria. All of them had a low risk of bias. The data showed that children and adolescents with CP have worse nutritional status than those normally developed. Those who received hypercaloric and hyperprotein nutritional supplementation benefited from its use. Studies indicate that enteral nutrition should be considered when nutritional needs are not met by the oral diet, especially in cases where oral motor functions are impaired. In addition, there was a direct relationship between the consistency of food, the level of motor function and nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents with CP have a greater risk of malnutrition. The use of nutritional supplementation may help with weight gain. In addition, enteral nutrition and modification of food texture have been used to improve the nutritional status of this group.