Neurologic parameters in the perinatal period in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term encompassing a group of nonprogressive, noncontagious conditions causing mild, moderate or severe disorders of neurodevelopment. Objective: Objective of this study was to analyze the possible prenatal etiological factors for the emergence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) and CP from the medical records of 100 children with neuromotor disabilities who were treated in Special Hospital for Children with Neuro-developmental and Movement Disorders, Goljak, Croatia. Results: ND and CP were more often diagnosed in children with birth weight below 2500 g which was statistically proved at the level of significance reaching 0.05, although significant correlation was low for both parameters reaching 0.21. There are both statistically significant differences and the statistically significant correlation between the three gestational age categories within ND and CP. There were more children with the birth weight below 2500 g in the CP than in the ND group and the difference was statistically significant. In the CP group, there were more children with the lower gestational age than in the ND group, which was statistically highly significant. This difference, together with correlation is significant at the level of 0.01. Conclusion: Further studies on the etiology of NDs are needed, with particular focus on the intrauterine risk factors.