Early Detection & Intervention of Cerebral Palsy in Ireland
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cerebral Palsy, Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Basic parameters: up to 40 Weeks · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Ireland
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Overview
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common lifelong physical disability. It is defined as a non-progressive disorder of movement originating from neural lesions in the perinatal period, and is associated with a wide range of common comorbidities in many individuals. These include problems speaking, hearing, seeing, thinking, feeding and controlling their bladder. People with CP often have additional challenges such as behavioural and emotional issues, pain, and poor sleep. Many of these challenges respond well to intervention in early childhood, as brain plasticity is at its greatest in the first 2 years of life. However, in most clinical settings, the age for diagnosis of CP is between 24 to 29 months, after this window of neurodevelopmental opportunity. This project will aim to improve the Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy in Ireland. This will be achieved by implementing an evidence-based approach to follow-up of High risk infants.
Primary outcome measures
- Reduce the age of CP diagnosis in Ireland. [Time frame: 5 years]
- Standardised Approach to Assessing infant at risk of CP [Time frame: 5 years]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Legal guardians must be able and willing to give written informed consent and to comply with the requirements of this study protocol.
- All infants considered high risk for cerebral palsy and neuro-developmental impairment will be eligible, specifically including:
- All preterm infants born ≤32 weeks Post Menstrual Age or ≤1500 gm birth weight
- All encephalopathic infants
- Neurological risk factors (e.g., injury/malformation on neuroimaging, persistently abnormal neurological exam)
Exclusion criteria
- Death prior to discharge from the neonatal unit.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Ireland · 5 centers
- Cork University Maternity Hospital — Cork
- Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital — Dublin
- National Maternity Hospital — Dublin
- The Rotunda Hospital — Dublin
- University Maternity Hospital Limerick — Limerick
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05907837 · EDI-CPI