Current possibilities for nutritional interventions in children with cerebral palsy

With the purpose of successful rehabilitation, reduction of concomitant diseases, improvement of nutritional status and the quality of life of patients with cerebral palsy (CP) it is necessary to develop therapeutic nutrition technology, which would include methods for nutritional status assessment, choosing of enteral nutrition formulas, methods of their delivery and the duration of nutritional support. The purpose of this research was to substantiate the nutritional support for patients with CP. Materials and methods used: 98 children aged 2 to 16 years and 9 months old (Me 5.7 y/o) with a spastic form of CP that had been admitted for examination, treatment and rehabilitation at the National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health (Moscow, Russia) were examined. Depending on the level of motor activity calculated with GMFCS, the participants were divided into two groups: G1 of 51 (52%) with severe motor impairment (GMFCS IV to V) and G2 of 47 (48%) with mild and moderate motor impairment (GMFCS I to III). Clinical and anamnestic data, information about the severity and the course of the disease, concomitant pathology were analyzed as well as the anthropometric data (Z-scores: weight/age, height/age, BMI/age) using the WHO AnthroPlus application (2009 revision). EDACS survey had also been carried out. Results: Patients with severe motor impairments were significantly more likely to have problems associated with food intake, such as: prolonged feeding (over 30 minutes), predominance of semi-liquid and pureed food in the diet as well as frequent choking, vomiting, wheezing and coughing during the feeding process. All patients in this group needed external assistance in feeding. 75% had respiratory and 72% had gastrointestinal complications. Severe impairments (EDACS IV to V) characterized by significant restrictions on food safety were identified in 24 (23%) children, that met statistically significantly (p<0.001) more often in patients from G1 than from G2 (41% vs. 4%, respectively). Dietary analysis children with CP had showed that the quality and quantity of food consumed were monotonous and deficient. Consumption of pasta, cereals, and baking was 1.5 times higher than recommended whilst vegetables, fruits and healthy dairy products were reduced by 3 and 1.8 times, respectively, on the contrary. The WHO recommendations for children on the mandatory daily intake of 3 to 4 servings of various vegetables and fruits were not followed: in the majority (80%) of cases they’ve only had it once per day, and they even were completely absent in some cases. Nutritional assessment revealed that patients with severe movement disorders, regardless of the gender and nutritional status, had significant deficiencies in energy and protein intake. All studied anthropometric indicators in G1 patients were significantly (p<0.005) lower compared to G2 children. Prevalence of undernutrition was 72% and 32% (p<0.001), respectively. Individual nutritional program was developed for each and every studied patient with identified malnutrition and oropharyngeal dysphagia, followed by its clinical effectiveness assessment. Conclusion: enteral nutritional support with specialized formulas based on both whole and hydrolyzed proteins using the sipping/gastrostomy method, as well as with the use of a food and liquids thickeners, proved to be highly effective in the treatment and rehabilitation of CP children. Indicators characterizing food intake (time taken for feeding, frequency of choking records during meals, episodes of vomiting and regurgitation) have improved as well as the anthropometric indicators improved accordingly.