Patient selection: patient with cerebral palsy from 1 to 26 years of age
Outcome: hospital admission for respiratory illness over a 3-year period. Most of the risk factors listed are associated with aspiration pneumonia.
Risk factors for a hospital admission for respiratory illness:
(1) Gross Motor Function Classification Scale level V (totally dependent with mobility severely limited)
(2) >= 1 respiratory hospital admission in the previous year
(3) >= 2 courses of antibiotics in the year preceding the survey
(4) oropharyngeal dysphagia
(5) dysphagia
(6) seizures
(7) frequent respiratory symptoms
(8) gastro-esophageal reflux disease
(9) mealtime respiratory symptoms
(10) nocturnal snoring
The risk of hospital admission for a respiratory illness increases with the number of risk factors present.
