Determinants of hip and femoral deformities in children with spastic cerebral palsy

Abstract

Objective To find factors affecting hip and femoral deformities in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) by comparing various clinical findings with imaging studies including plain radiography and computed tomography (CT) imaging. Methods Medical records of 709 children with spastic CP who underwent thorough baseline physical examination and functional assessment between 2 to 6 years old were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-seven children (31 boys and 26 girls) who had both plain radiography of the hip and three-dimensional CT of the lower extremities at least 5 years after baseline examination were included in this study. Results The mean age at physical examination was 3.6 years (SD=1.6; range, 2-5.2 years) and the duration of follow-up imaging after baseline examination was 68.4 months (SD=22.0; range, 60-124 months). The migration percentage correlated with motor impairment and the severity of hip adductor spasticity (R1 angle of hip abduction with knee flexion). The femoral neck and shaft angle correlated with the ambulation ability and severity of hip adductor spasticity (R1 and R2 angles of hip abduction with both knee flexion and extension). Conclusion Hip subluxation and coxa valga deformity correlated with both dynamic spasticity and shortening of hip adductor muscles. However, we found no correlation between femoral deformities such as femoral anteversion, coxa valga, and hip subluxation.