The Child with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a nonprogressive disorder resulting from an injury to the brain before, during, or slightly after birth that affects motor function. Patients with cerebral palsy have a wide range of symptomatology that can affect their risk for complications during anesthesia and procedural sedation. The inherent issues of spasticity and hypotonia affecting skeletal muscle, oropharyngeal muscle function, and gut motility create an increased risk for airway-related adverse events in particular. Contractures may affect the positioning requirements of any procedure or test, thereby affecting the level of sedation needed for patient comfort and procedure completion. Careful preprocedure planning is crucial.