Mortality of urban and rural young children with cerebral palsy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a high child mortality rate. However, little is known about the outcome for young children who have cerebral palsy (CP). Ninety-two chi ldren with CP with a mean age of 3 years 3 months at entry into the study w ere followed for up to 3 years as part of an intervention study. Eight chil dren died: two of 49 (4%) from an urban area and six of 43 (14%) from a rur al area. Extrinsic factors such as infections and drug reactions preceded a ll the deaths, but those who died were mostly severely malnourished and amo ng the more severely disabled of the total group. Eighty-nine percent of ru ral children in the study were from low-income families. Intervention progr ammes for severely disabled children in developing countries must include p rimary health care and feeding programmes as well as rehabilitation service s to address both the needs of the child and empowerment of the mother and the family.