CEREBRAL PALSY DIAGNOSIS - MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

Cerebral palsy diagnosis is neither straightforward nor fast and may take some considerable time to be definitely confirmed. Physicians have real difficulties recognising the differences between other disorders that mimic the symptoms of this condition. Children aged less than six months might show the some or all of symptoms listed below however the problem may still lie elsewhere :-

• irritability
• legs and arms trembling
• difficulty being fed
• general lethargy
• crying in an abnormal way or at abnormal times
• poor muscle tone
• bad reflexes
• muscles switching from floppy to stiff and vice versa
• staring spells, fluttering eyelids and twitches, seizures
• hands held in tight fists
• unbalanced movements

Children over the age of six months with brain injuries will typically exhibit more obvious symptoms such as being obviously slow to reach the standard and expected points of development as they grow. These include rolling over, being able to sit up, crawling and eventually walking and talking. Parents typically notice these problems if they have already had one child, but there is a risk they would not realize anything was amiss if they have not. The central nervous system of a young child is good at recovering from minor injuries and as such, doctors remain hesitant to make a cerebral palsy diagnosis quickly and tend to use broad terms as :-

• motor disability
• central nervous system dysfunctions
• static encephalopathy
• delay in development
• neuromotor dysfunctions

Before a physician can make a cerebral palsy diagnosis other disorders which exhibit similar symptoms must be ruled out. It is necessary to ensure that the there is no change in symptoms as this condition is not a progressive problem. The techniques at their disposal include :-

• an EEG helps to trace any electrical activity in the brain and in doing so shows the doctor any patterns that might suggest a seizure disorder
• electromyography studies can show a nerve or muscular disorder
• analysing the chromosomes can help identify any anomalies in the genetic makeup of the child
• tumours in the central nervous system can cause a decline in motor skills
• testing the functionality of the thyroid reveals the level of thyroid hormone in the blood which can produce mental problems if too low
• abnormally high levels of ammonia in the blood stream can be toxic which may be caused by a liver disorder or metabolic abnormality
• MRI scans can reveal problems with white matter and the motor cortex
• CT scans of the head can show haemorrhages, periventricular leukomalacia and congenital malformations
• ultrasound tests detect cysts and other unusual structures in a child’s brain

Doctors will test the child’s motor skills extensively and monitor the development of the patient over time, checking muscle tone and keeping the medical history in mind. Posture and intelligence testing are also be crucial parts of a cerebral palsy diagnosis.

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