Introduction: Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and occur as a result of anomalies in the developing brain that impair the brain's capacity to regulate movement, maintain posture, and maintain balance. Healthcare professionals can better predict the need for the medical, rehabilitative, and support services needed by people with cerebral palsy by using accurate prevalence statistics. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of cerebral palsy among children visiting the Outpatient Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics in a tertiary care centre.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting the Outpatient Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics in a tertiary care centre. Data from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019 was collected between 25 April 2023 to 5 May 2023 from medical records after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. Convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval.
Results: Among 6984 children, the prevalence of cerebral palsy was 545 (7.80%) (7.17-8.43, 95% Confidence Interval). The most common type of cerebral palsy was found to be spastic diplegia 219 (40.18%).
Conclusions: The prevalence of cerebral palsy among children visiting the Outpatient Department of Pediatric Orthopaedic was found to be higher than in other studies done in similar settings.
Keywords: cerebral palsy; prevalence; spastic diplegia.