Creating a Hospital-Based Registry for Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy in Italy

What this Trial Is About

Cerebral Palsy CP is a leading cause of childhood disability marked by motor development challenges along with sensory, communication, cognitive, and emotional difficulties. This study aims to create a national digital platform across clinical centers in Italy to collect standardized, retrospective, and prospective clinical, instrumental, and genetic data on children and adolescents with CP. The goal is to analyze the prevalence of different CP types and assess the severity of functional impairments and related comorbidities in a large pediatric population. The study is observational and involves no treatment interventions. It includes systematic data collection through a hospital-based registry using a checklist completed for each participant. Data will include clinical evaluations, neuroradiological and electrophysiological information, and classifications of CP using multiple functional and communication scales. Enrollment targets a minimum of 300 participants aged 4 to 18 years across three centers, with ongoing monitoring of enrollment and data completeness every three months. Participants will be involved in routine clinical visits without additional procedures. Data collected include demographic information, CP classification, disorder etiology, and various functional levels such as motor, manual ability, communication, speech, and eatingdrinking abilities. Researchers will track study progress and adherence over 36 months. No medical devices or biological samples are used, and the study complements other national CP projects to improve knowledge and care standards.

Observational Study for the Epidemiology of Cerebral Palsy in Italy