Children with congenital Zika syndrome: symptoms, comorbidities and gross motor development at 24 months of age

Lêda Maria da Costa Pinheiro Frota; Rosana Ferreira Sampaio; José Lucivan Miranda; Rita Maria Cavalcante Brasil; Ana Paula Bensemann Gontijo; Juliana Vaz de Melo Mambrini; Marina de Brito Brandão; Marisa Cotta Mancini

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04130

Children with congenital Zika syndrome: symptoms, comorbidities and gross motor development at 24 months of age

Heliyon. 2020 Jun 15;6(6):e04130. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04130. eCollection 2020 Jun.

Authors

Lêda Maria da Costa Pinheiro Frota¹, Rosana Ferreira Sampaio², José Lucivan Miranda³, Rita Maria Cavalcante Brasil⁴, Ana Paula Bensemann Gontijo⁵, Juliana Vaz de Melo Mambrini⁶, Marina de Brito Brandão⁷, Marisa Cotta Mancini⁷

Affiliations

¹ Interinstitutional Doctorate Program (Dinter) UFC-UFMG Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Center for Treatment and Early Stimulation - NUTEP, Rua - Papi Júnior, 1225, Rodolfo Teófilo,60, 430-235, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
² Department of Physical Therapy, Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Physical Education, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
³ Department of Maternal and Child Health. Universidade Federal do Ceará, Center for Treatment and Early Stimulation - NUTEP, Rua -Papi Júnior, 1225, Rodolfo Teófilo, 60, 430-235, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
⁴ Center for Treatment and Early Stimulation - NUTEP, Rua Papi Júnior, 1225, Rodolfo Teófilo, 60, 430-235, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
⁵ Department of Physical Therapy, School of Physical Education, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
⁶ Oswaldo Cruz Foundation's René Rachou Institute (IRR) (Fiocruz), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
⁷ Department of Occupational Therapy, Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Physical Education, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: Children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) maintain severe motor impairments at the end of the first year of life. Presence of certain symptoms and comorbidities increase these children's vulnerability.

Aims: To evaluate gross motor function of a group of Brazilian children with CZS at 24 months of age and to investigate the association between the presence of CZS symptoms and comorbidities with gross motor development.

Methods and procedures: Fifty children with CZS participated in the study. Information was collected from medical charts, and gross motor development was evaluated by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-88. GMFM-88 scores were compared among comorbid groups. Three subgroups of children were identified by cluster analysis, based on information from head circumference at birth, symptoms, comorbidities and gross motor function.

Outcomes and results: Significant associations (p < 0.001) were observed between number of comorbidities/symptoms and dimensions A (r = -0.57) and B (r = -0.58) of the GMFM-88. Children were grouped into 3 clusters, with different gross motor skills. Children with epilepsy and dysphagia composed the cluster with smaller median scores for dimensions A and B of the GMFM-88.

Conclusions and implications: The presence of CZS symptoms and comorbidities compromise the gross motor repertoire of children with CZS at 24 months.

Keywords: Disability; Dysphagia; Epilepsy; Health promotion; Microcephaly; Motor skills; Musculoskeletal system; Nervous system; Neuroscience; Pediatrics; Virology; Zika virus.