Efficacy of combined rehabilitation programs for infants with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Abstract

Aim. To evaluate the efficacy of a combined rehabilitation program for infants with perinatal lesions of the central nervous system in the form of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Materials and methods. In total, 173 six-month-old children who underwent hypoxia were included in the observational study. The rehabilitation program included medical massage and hydrokinesotherapy; myostimulation of the muscles of the back and limbs; dry immersion method; treatments on a Grosso simulator; ergotherapy; therapy with an elastic pseudo-boiling layer; speech therapy massage. The Griffith mental development scale was used to assess the psychomotor development of infants.

Results. Following a course of combined rehabilitation, a positive dynamic in improving functional disorders in children of the first year of life who underwent perinatal HIE was revealed. This effect was associated with improvements in motor and sensory functions, indicators of speech development and understanding speech, emotions and communication, thinking and play activity. A reduction in the backlog of psychomotor development by 1–2 checkup periods and a reduction in the risk of obtaining the status of a disabled child by 12 months was established.

Conclusion. Combined programs of long-term rehabilitation for infants with perinatal lesions of the central nervous system were confirmed to be effective due to the pos itive dynamics of functional activity indicators, acceleration of the formation of life support skills, and a threefold reduction in the level of disability.