Assessment of motor function score according to the GMFM-88 in children with cerebral palsy after postoperative rehabilitation.

Objective. To determine the outcome of rehabilitationtreatment after orthopedic-surgical treatment of the lowerextremities in relation to motor function and degree of disabilityin children with cerebral palsy. Subjects and methods.An historical-prospective study included 44 treated childrenwith CP from May 2000 until June 2009 at the Departmentof Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation University ClinicalCentre Tuzla. The main criteria for entering the study werediagnosed CP and performed orthopedic-surgery of the lowerextremities during rehabilitation treatment. Assessmentof the motor function score was performed according to theGross Motor Function Measure 88 (GMFM-88), and classificationof the degree of disability was developed based on thescale of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS).Results. In our study, motor functions were improved,so that the median value and interquartil range (IQR) of thetotal GMFM score before surgery was 35.7 (IQR from 22.9 to57.2), and after postoperative rehabilitation 58.6 (IQR from31.2 to 85.2) with a high statistical significance (p<0.0001).Median value GMFCS scores before surgery ranged around5 (IQR from 4 to 5), and after postoperative rehabilitationranged around 3 (IQR from 2 to 5), which shows a highlystatistically significant reduction in the degree of disability(p<0.001). Conclusion. Surgical intervention performed onthe lower extremities in children with cerebral palsy may improvemotor function in all developmental stages and reducethe degree of disability with intensive rehabilitation.