Abdalla Veríssimo TC1,2, Oliveira Martins Prudente C1, Ferreira Martins Ribeiro M1, Borges Rabelo A2, Luiza Costa C2, Fernandes Cândido J2
1Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Nursing, Goiânia, Brazil, 2Centro de Reabilitação e Readaptação Dr. Henrique Santillo, Physical Therapy, Goiânia, Brazil
Background: In 2015, the sudden increase of microcephaly cases in newborns in Brazil alerted the whole world. Microcephaly was then linked to maternal infection by Zika virus during pregnancy, and it was noted to be part of a larger array of symptoms, including cerebral calcifications, structural hypoplasias, cranial malformation, convulsive seizures, decrease in brain perimeter and a significant delay in motor development. This array of characteristics and grave alterations was then called Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome. This syndrome is a contemporary and important matter of public healthcare in Brazil.
Purpose: This study had the goal of evaluating motor evolution in children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome through 10 months of rehabilitation.
Methods: This was an observational and longitudinal study. The sample was made up of all children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome, up to 8 months old in corrected age, tended in a rehabilitation center in Goiás, Brazil. The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), a validated questionnaire for motor performance evaluation of children with developmental delay, was employed for assessing the children. The infants were evaluated before therapy started and after 10 months of intervention. This intervention was executed by a multiprofessional team, formed by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists. In the statistical analysis of data, the statistical package Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS, 23,0) was used. Data normality was verified through the Shapiro-Wilk test. Comparison of the AIMS scale before and after intervention was done through Wilcoxon and Pearson´s chi-squared tests. The significance level adopted was 5% (p 0,05).
Results: The sample was made up of 16 children, aged between 20 and 254 days, and an average 79,1 ± 53,5. The children presented significant improvement after the 10-month intervention. Initial AIMS grade evaluation showed an average score between 6,29 ± 1,98, and after 10 months the infants presented an average score of 17,43 ± 7,83, with p = 0,02. In AIMS subscale assessments, the children also showed remarkable improvement. In the supine subscale, evaluations produced an initial average of 1,86 ± 0,69, and a final average of 6,57 ± 4,28, with p = 0,03. In the prone subscale, the starting average was 1,86 ± 0,90 and the final one 5,71 ± 3,90, with p = 0,02. In the standing subscale, the initial average was 0,86 ± 0,69 and the final one 2,00 ± 1,00, with p = 0,04. There was no significant betterment in the sitting subscale.
Conclusion(s): This study concludes that children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome may benefit from a rehabilitation program. However, since it is a recent and little-known alteration, we suggest the realization of new studies to validate and strengthen the rehabilitation approach.
Implications: The present study aims to help clinical approach in children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome, and guide physical therapists in their treatments.
Keywords: Zika virus, rehabilitation, physical therapy
Funding acknowledgements: FAPEG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás (Brazil)
Purpose: This study had the goal of evaluating motor evolution in children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome through 10 months of rehabilitation.
Methods: This was an observational and longitudinal study. The sample was made up of all children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome, up to 8 months old in corrected age, tended in a rehabilitation center in Goiás, Brazil. The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), a validated questionnaire for motor performance evaluation of children with developmental delay, was employed for assessing the children. The infants were evaluated before therapy started and after 10 months of intervention. This intervention was executed by a multiprofessional team, formed by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists. In the statistical analysis of data, the statistical package Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS, 23,0) was used. Data normality was verified through the Shapiro-Wilk test. Comparison of the AIMS scale before and after intervention was done through Wilcoxon and Pearson´s chi-squared tests. The significance level adopted was 5% (p 0,05).
Results: The sample was made up of 16 children, aged between 20 and 254 days, and an average 79,1 ± 53,5. The children presented significant improvement after the 10-month intervention. Initial AIMS grade evaluation showed an average score between 6,29 ± 1,98, and after 10 months the infants presented an average score of 17,43 ± 7,83, with p = 0,02. In AIMS subscale assessments, the children also showed remarkable improvement. In the supine subscale, evaluations produced an initial average of 1,86 ± 0,69, and a final average of 6,57 ± 4,28, with p = 0,03. In the prone subscale, the starting average was 1,86 ± 0,90 and the final one 5,71 ± 3,90, with p = 0,02. In the standing subscale, the initial average was 0,86 ± 0,69 and the final one 2,00 ± 1,00, with p = 0,04. There was no significant betterment in the sitting subscale.
Conclusion(s): This study concludes that children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome may benefit from a rehabilitation program. However, since it is a recent and little-known alteration, we suggest the realization of new studies to validate and strengthen the rehabilitation approach.
Implications: The present study aims to help clinical approach in children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome, and guide physical therapists in their treatments.
Keywords: Zika virus, rehabilitation, physical therapy
Funding acknowledgements: FAPEG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás (Brazil)
Topic: Paediatrics; Disability & rehabilitation
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: PUC-GO - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás
Ethics committee: Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa - PUC-GO
Ethics number: 70024417.6.0000.0037
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
