After receiving a cerebral palsy diagnosis for a child, parents and caregivers frequently question physicians and medical professionals regarding the prognosis and life expectancy for the patients. Ultimately, medical professionals frequently find themselves waiting and observing patients in the first two years of life prior to making any formal diagnosis of cerebral palsy, in the case of infant patients.
Moreover, physician’s estimates on the projected future impact of a given patient’s damages is difficult to correlate closely to any one known set of data. In practice, the longevity of a cerebral palsy patient is a predicated on a multitude of case-specific factors. The first and foremost variable dictating the probable life expectancy is outside the control of patients, families, and oftentimes, medical professionals as well. At a foundational level, the extent of the damage sustained leading to later observable manifestation of motion deficits diagnosed as cereal palsy is entirely predicated at the outset on the extent and prevalence of the damages caused by a presumed prior traumatic brain injury in the infant patient.
Though Unpredictable Medically Occasionally, Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy Figures Are Critical in Cerebral Palsy Litigation
Conversely, life expectancy calculations are often crucial in non-congenital instances of the disorder resulting from malpractice, as families and patients pursue legal options seeking appropriate financial compensation for medical bills and other cerebral palsy related expenses. In both instances, medical professionals utilize historical medical data in tandem with individual patient evaluations to determine an accurate life expectancy estimation.
Driving Goals of Life Expectancy Optimization Practices, Medication, Research, and Therapies
- The responsibility for reducing risk factors for decreased life expectancy falls to parents, caregivers and medical professionals working congruently to monitor the patient’s condition. Caregivers, legal guardians, and parents caring for a child with the neurological disorder are noted by medical experts as best protected by regularly relaying current information on a child with cerebral palsy to his or her medical team.
- To optimize life expectancy, physicians and caregivers devise actionable care plans to maintain accurate medical records, implement treatment regimens and pinpoint key goals for the patient’s progress. Cerebral palsy manifests differently in every patient, requiring individualized treatment plans to revolve around the individual’s needs as opposed to the nature of and general symptoms of the disorder.
- Because most patients are diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 5, medical guidance and treatment typically begin during childhood, allowing for maximal positive effect on the child’s quality of life and longevity. To further these goals, the patient’s primary care physicians work with parents and caregivers to design, implement and commit to treatment goals as well as an action plan. Following the necessary battery of evaluations and assessments, treatment commences as early as possible to maximize the positive outcomes of an early intervention. In the long term, medical professionals, parents, and caregivers strive to remain fully cognizant of the child’s individual risks for certain medical complications in addition to seeking timely and accurate medical assistance when a cause for concern arises.
Common Elements of Life Expectancy Optimization Care Plans and General Symptom Cerebral Palsy Management
In comparison to children without impairments or disabilities, patients with cerebral palsy require increased levels of personal and medical care; however, given significant advances in modern medical technology, even the most acutely affected patients live high quality lives over the course of 50 to 60 years. Treatment plans focus significantly on optimizing mobility and muscle control through physical therapies and in more severe cases, corrective surgeries. Therapy sessions and surgical procedures serve to allow patients greater independent movement but additionally seek to improve daily functions, such as swallowing and eating, which can remain extremely difficult or time-consuming for patients with high levels of muscle spasticity. Individual occupational therapies foster the development of essential self-care practices necessary for independent living and maintaining employment in adult life. Moreover, life expectancy optimization practices teach standard and alternative communication methods, giving patients greater control over their daily experiences as well as the ability to work closer with medical professionals and caregivers to better manage and target primary disorder related symptoms and issues.
The Uses of Life Expectancy Calculations and Technological Advances Affecting Current Predictions
Life expectancy predictions do not indicate with certainty the exact lifespan of an individual, but rather, the figure results from a consortium of scientific and historical data regarding national and international averages for cerebral palsy patients with varying degrees of disorder severity. Importantly, mortality rates for afflicted individuals continue to decline as a result of constant and effective advancements in medical knowledge and technology; thus, life expectancy calculations may be rendered inaccurate following the introduction of future medical products. Furthermore, adherence to quality care plans and diligent symptom management can aid patients to surpass professional life expectancy calculations.
References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2065925/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cerebral-palsy/basics/definition/con-20030502
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/detail_cerebral_palsy.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2065925/
http://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/life-expectancy-among-people-with-cerebral-palsy-in-western-australia(481e1909-916b-42a1-ab49-334d3a46bd08).html