A review of clinical presentation and physiotherapy management of cerebral palsy patients in Esut teaching hospital, Enugu, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy affects the general neurological development of those involved. This usually culminates into various muscular deficits some of which are amenable to physiotherapy intervention and rehabilitation. METHOD: A 6 year retrospective study was conducted to find out the clinical presentation and physiotherapy management of cerebral palsy patients in ESUT Teaching Hospital Enugu, Nigeria, between June 2009 and May, 2015. RESULT: 146(30.2%) cases of cerebral palsy were noted out of 483 children seen within the period. There was male predominance n- 86(58.9%) and the commonest cause of cerebral palsy was birth asphyxia n- 56(38.4%). Several physiotherapy treatment modalities were applied, the common ones being neurodevelopment therapy, trans-cutaneous electric nerve stimulation, and passive and active exercise modules. Majority of the patients' accessed treatment less than 5 times n- 86(59%) and were lost to follow up subsequently. Slightly more than 10% of the patients accessed treatment consistently for 3 months. CONCLUSION: High level of abandonment of treatment and lack of more modern physiotherapy modalities were noted. There is need to emphasize better health education of parents/guardians of the patients and improve social welfare benefits for the patients.