ARTICLE

Cramped Synchronized General Movements

in Preterm Infants as an Early Marker
for Cerebral Palsy
Fabrizio Ferrari, MD; Giovanni Cioni, MD; Christa Einspieler, PhD; M. Federica Roversi, MD; Arend F. Bos, MD, PhD;
Paola B. Paolicelli, MD; Andrea Ranzi, PhD; Heinz F. R. Prechtl, MD, DPhil, FRCOG(Hon)

Objective: To ascertain whether specific abnormali- worse was the neurological outcome. Transient cramped
ties (ie, cramped synchronized general movements synchronized character GMs (8 cases) were followed by
[GMs]) can predict cerebral palsy and the severity of later mild cerebral palsy (fidgety movements were absent) or
motor impairment in preterm infants affected by brain normal development (fidgety movements were present).
lesions. Consistently normal GMs (13 cases) and poor repertoire
GMs (30 cases) either lead to normal outcomes (84%) or
Design: Traditional neurological examination was per- cerebral palsy with mild motor impairment (16%). Ob-
formed, and GMs were serially videotaped and blindly servation of GMs was 100% sensitive, and the specificity
observed for 84 preterm infants with ultrasound abnor- of the cramped synchronized GMs was 92.5% to 100%
malities from birth until 56 to 60 weeks’ postmenstrual throughout the age range, which is much higher than the
age. The developmental course of GM abnormalities was specificity of neurological examination.
compared with brain ultrasound findings alone and with
findings from neurological examination, in relation to the Conclusions: Consistent and predominant cramped syn-
patient’s outcome at age 2 to 3 years. chronized GMs specifically predict cerebral palsy. The
earlier this characteristic appears, the worse is the later
Results: Infants with consistent or predominant (33 cases) impairment.
cramped synchronized GMs developed cerebral palsy. The
earlier cramped synchronized GMs were observed, the Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:460-467

I
N THE PAST 20 years, there has been identification of cerebral palsy in very
a dramatic reduction in neonatal young infants is extremely difficult.10 It is
mortality of low-birth-weight and generally reported that cerebral palsy can-
very low-birth-weight infants but not be diagnosed before several months af-
a relative increase in the inci- ter birth11-15 or even before the age of 2
dence of cerebral palsy among children years.16 A so-called silent period, lasting
with low birth weight and short gesta- 4 to 5 months or more, and a period of un-
tion.1-4 An increased survival rate is associ- certainty until the turning point at 8
From the Institute of ated with an increased proportion of in- months of corrected age have also been
Paediatrics and Neonatal fants with cerebral palsy, and it has been identified.12,13 The neurological symp-
Medicine, University of
suggested that the reduction in neonatal toms observed in the first few months af-
Modena, Italy (Drs Ferrari,
Roversi, and Ranzi); the mortality and the concomitant relative in- ter birth in preterm infants who will de-
Institute of Developmental crease in cerebral palsy might be associ- velop cerebral palsy are neither sensitive
Neurology, Psychiatry, and ated5 because the prevalence of cerebral nor specific enough to ensure reliable prog-
Educational Psychology, palsy rises sharply the lower the weight of noses. Irritability, abnormal finger pos-
University of Pisa, and the the infant at birth.6-8 Cerebral palsy occurs ture, spontaneous Babinski reflex,17,18
Stella Maris Foundation, in 8% to 10% of very preterm babies, and weakness of the lower limbs,19 transient
Calambrone, Pisa, Italy approximately 40% of all children with ce- abnormality of tone,12,13,20-24 and delay in
(Drs Cioni and Paolicelli); rebral palsy were born preterm.8,9 achieving motor milestones11 are some of
the Department of Physiology, the neurological signs that have been de-
University of Graz, Austria
(Drs Einspieler and Prechtl);
For editorial comment scribed in these high-risk preterm in-
and the Department of see page 422
Paediatrics, Beatrix Children’s
An early prediction of cerebral palsy See the enhanced version at
Hospital, University of
will lead to earlier enrollment in rehabili- http://www.archpediatrics.com
Groningen, Groningen,
the Netherlands (Dr Bos). tation programs. Unfortunately, reliable

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 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OBSERVATION OF GMs

Videotape recordings were usually made at 3-week to 5-week

intervals from birth until the preterm infants were dis-
High-risk preterm infants were enrolled at the University charged from the hospital. During the study period, each
of Modena and the University of Pisa (Italy) for a prospec- infant was recorded 5 to 10 times. Serial assessments of GM
tive, collaborative study of GM observation. The scientific quality were displayed on a time axis to trace individual
Research Committee of the Italian Ministry of Health, Rome, developmental trajectories.27 Because the functional rep-
approved the study. Infants who fulfilled the following cri- ertoire changes at various ages, we divided our longitudi-
teria—mother’s last menstrual date reliably known, gesta- nal data into 4 “key age” periods: preterm (up to 37 weeks’
tional age less than 37 completed weeks, ultrasound ab- postmenstrual age), term age (38-42 weeks’ postmen-
normalities highly suggestive of brain parenchymal insult, strual age), 43 to 46 weeks’ postmenstrual age, and 47 to
repeated GM assessment and neurological examination un- 60 weeks’ postmenstrual age. The quality of the GMs of in-
til about 56 to 60 weeks’ postmenstrual age, and neuro- fants recorded in Modena was assessed in Pisa (G.C.), and
logical follow-up until 2 to 3 years’ corrected age—were infants recorded in Pisa were assessed in Modena (F.F.).
included in the study. We excluded infants with chromo- In addition, one of us (H.F.R.P.), who was unaware of the
somal defects or major malformations of the brain or other infants’ clinical histories and ultrasound results, reas-
organs. All infants with GM observation or neurological ex- sessed the quality of GMs. Interobserver agreement in the
amination missing at more than 1 key age were also ex- judgment of the quality of GMs was 90.2%. If investiga-
cluded. We enrolled 93 infants, but 9 were omitted be- tors disagreed, an agreement was reached after reassess-
cause of missing data. Eighty-four infants were included ment and discussion. From birth until the end of the sec-
in the final sample. The clinical data of the study group are ond month postterm, GMs were scored as normal, poor
listed in Table 1. Some infants had taken part in previ- repertoire, or cramped synchronized. From 47 to 60 weeks’
ous studies,29,32,34 and all parents gave their informed postmenstrual age, GMs of a fidgety character were scored
consent. as present (normal or abnormal) or absent. When more than
1 judgment per age period was available for a single sub-
ULTRASOUND SCANS ject, the first observation for this age period was used. In
addition, GMs of a cramped synchronized character could
be scored until 60 weeks’ postmenstrual age (Figure 1).
On the basis of serial ultrasound scans, performed with 5-
to 7.5-MHz heads, we included infants with cystic (34 cases) DEFINITIONS
or noncystic (34 cases) abnormalities of the white matter.
Cystic lesions were categorized as small and localized, ex- General movements are gross movements that involve the
tensive periventricular, and/or subcortical cysts. Noncys- whole body; they may last from a few seconds to several
tic lesions consisted of increased periventricular echo- minutes. They appear early in gestation (9-10 weeks’ post-
genicity, characterized by globular, blotchy, coarse menstrual age) and are the most complex of the whole rep-
hyperechoic ultrasound images localized in the periven- ertoire of endogenously generated distinct movements.
tricular region that were seen both in coronal and para- What is particular about normal GMs is the variable se-
sagittal views, persisted for 2 weeks or longer, and re- quence of arm, neck, and trunk movements. They wax and
solved without subsequent development of cysts or wane in intensity, force, and speed, and they have a gradual
enlargement of the lateral ventricles (adapted from beginning and end. The majority of the sequence of exten-
Dammann and Leviton41). Sixteen infants with intraven- sion and flexion movements of arms and legs is complex,
tricular hemorrhage grades 3 and 3+, according to Volpe,42 with superimposed rotations and, often, slight changes in
were also included. Ultrasound abnormalities were re- the direction of the movement. These additional compo-
viewed blindly by an expert in ultrasounds (A.B.) who was nents make the movement fluent and elegant and create
unaware of the clinical history and development of the
infants. Continued on next page

fants. All these symptoms may be encountered before the baby. More than 10 years ago, Prechtl et al27-29 intro-
onset of cerebral palsy or during “transient dystonia,”21 duced a new approach to neurological evaluation based
dissociated motor development,25,26 and other transient on spontaneous motor activity, rather than reflexes and
neurological disturbances,23,24 which disappear during the evoked responses. Theoretical and empirical consider-
first or second year of life. Moreover, no correlations have ations suggest that the quality of endogenously gener-
been found among any of these symptoms and the se- ated motor activity is a better indicator of neural func-
verity of future motor impairment. Therefore, tradi- tion integrity than many items in the neurological
tional neurological examination fails to predict the de- examination.27 In fact, fetuses and newborn infants
velopment and severity of cerebral palsy.10,16 exhibit a large number of endogenously generated
Neurological examination of newborns and young motor patterns, which are produced by central pattern
infants is mostly based on the study of neonatal generators located in different parts of the brain. More-
reflexes, such as grasping, Moro reflex, rooting, and over, substantial indications suggest that spontaneous
tonic asymmetric response and evoked responses, such activity is a more sensitive indicator of brain dysfunc-
as those involved in passive and active muscle tone. tion than reactivity to sensory stimuli in reflex testing.
Little attention is paid to the spontaneous activity of the Various studies29-40 have demonstrated that in newborn

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 the impression of complexity and variability. Despite this vari- the Griffiths Developmental Scales47 was performed. At this
ability, GMs must be considered as a distinct coordinated pat- age, the outcome was classified as “normal” (no neurological
tern that is easy to recognize each time it occurs. signs) or “cerebral palsy.” Cerebral palsy was defined as “a
In poor repertoire GMs, the sequence of the compo- chronic disability characterized by aberrant control of move-
nents of the successive movements is monotonous, and the ment or posture, appearing early in life and not the result of
movements of the different body parts do not occur in the recognized progressive disease.”48(p707) At 2 to 3 years of age,
complex way seen in normal GMs. the severity of motor disability was scored in accordance with
Cramped synchronized GMs appear rigid and lack the the classification system for gross motor function in children
normal smooth and fluent character. All limb and trunk with cerebral palsy recently proposed by Palisano et al.49 We
muscles contract and relax almost simultaneously. distinguished mild (grade 1) and moderate to severe motor
Fidgety movements are an ongoing stream of small, cir- impairment (grades 2-5). In addition, we defined minor neu-
cular, and elegant movements of the neck, trunk, and limbs; rological deficits: mild sensory deficits, strabismus, severe pos-
they emerge at 6 to 9 weeks’ and disappear around 15 to 20 tural delay without corticospinal tract dysfunction, and/or a
weeks’ postterm age. Abnormal fidgety movements look like scorebetween50and84ontheGriffithsDevelopmentalScales.
normal fidgety movements, but their amplitude, speed, and
jerkiness are moderately or greatly exaggerated. INTEROBSERVER RELIABILITY
Abnormal GM quality could persist throughout the en-
tire period of observation or just part of it. We called an in- The neurological examinations in Modena and in Pisa were
dividual developmental trajectory with the same GM abnor- performed by two of us (F.F. and G.C., respectively). To
mality throughout the study period consistent. When GM assess functional impairment in cerebral palsy, the same
abnormality was observed transiently during preterm and/or authors reviewed the neurodevelopmental records and vid-
term age only, we used the term transient. When cramped eotapes of the infants at the time of the last clinical check.
synchronized GMs (preceded by poor repertoire GMs) were Preterm infants from Pisa were scored by one of us (F.F.),
present for even longer and did not disappear until 60 weeks’ and while another of us (G.C.) scored infants from Modena;
postmenstrual age, the term predominant was used. these scores were compared with the original scores given
by local physical therapists and pediatric neurologists. In
NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION AND FOLLOW-UP case of disagreement, an agreement was reached after re-
assessment and discussion.
During the preterm and term periods, neurological examina-
tion was carried out in accordance with the Dubowitz and STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Dubowitz43 and Prechtl44 protocols, respectively. During the
first 5 months’ postterm and afterward, videotapes of spon- The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used
taneous motility and clinical checks were accompanied by a to compare the power of ultrasounds and GMs to predict
standardized neurological assessment, based on items from cerebral palsy.50 Receiver operating characteristic curve
Touwen.45 The neurological assessment was also videotaped. analysis provides a powerful means of assessing a test’s abil-
Any abnormal signs in the neurological examinations were ity to discriminate between 2 groups of patients, with the
noted. During the preterm period, we looked for the follow- advantage that the analysis does not depend on the thresh-
ing abnormalities from the Dubowitz protocol: abnormal pos- old value selected. To test the correlation between the time
ture, generalized or segmental hypotonia or hypertonia, hy- of appearance of the cramped synchronized GMs and the
pokinesis, abnormal head control, frequent tremors or startles, severity of motor impairment in children with cerebral palsy,
absent or abnormal responses or reflexes, hyporeactivity to a Yates trend test (2-tailed)51 was used. This test estimates
stimulation, and irritability.43,46 The results of the Prechtl ex- the trend based on regression concepts and is more appro-
amination, performed at term, were classified according to the priate and sensitive than a ␹2 test for p ⫻ q contingency
syndromes indicated in the summary form.44 The neurologi- tables. A P value of ⬍.05 was considered statistically sig-
cal examination was scored as abnormal when at least 1 of the nificant. A standard formula was used to calculate the like-
abnormalities mentioned above was present. Additionally, lihood ratio of GMs, the cramped synchronized character
at the age of 2 to 3 years, a developmental test according to of GMs, and findings from neurological examination.

infants affected by different brain lesions, spontaneous of GMs of fidgety character, or fidgety movements, at 47
motility does not change in quantity, but it loses its to 60 weeks’ postmenstrual age has been shown to be a
elegance, fluency, and complexity. General movements high-validity predictor of future neurological impair-
(GMs) have been selected from among the whole reper- ment, specifically cerebral palsy.34
toire of spontaneous motor patterns because of their A collaborative study with a large cohort of high-
complexity and frequent occurrence. A range of abnor- risk preterm infants was specifically designed to achieve
malities in the quality of GMs, such as hypokinesis, a better understanding of the relationship among cramped
poor repertoire, abnormal or absent fidgety movements, synchronized GMs, later cerebral palsy, and the severity
and chaotic and cramped synchronized GMs, have been of functional impairment. More specifically, 3 main ques-
described. Visual gestalt perception is a powerful and tions were addressed. First, are cramped synchronized
reliable instrument for detecting these alterations in the GMs an early and specific marker of later cerebral palsy?
complexity of movements. Cramped synchronized char- Second, is the emergence and development of cramped
acter, the most severe motor abnormality, has been synchronized GMs somehow related to the severity of ce-
found to be predictive of severe neurological im- rebral palsy? And third, are GMs as powerful a prognos-
pairment.29,32,34,35 Recently, the absence or abnormality tic tool as ultrasound abnormalities alone and tradi-

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 Table 1. Clinical Characteristics Voluntary and
Antigravity GM
of 84 High-Risk Preterm Infants*
N
Characteristics Infants
A
Postmenstrual age at birth, mean ± SD, wk 30.2 ± 2.7
Birth weight, mean ± SD, g 1410.14 ± 456.71
F GM
Outborn 14
N
Inborn 86
Writhing GM FA or F–
Boys 50
N
Girls 50
Preeclamptic toxemia 7 PR, CS, or CH
Multiple pregnancies 6 Postmenstrual Age, wk
Acute fetal distress† 13
Appropriate size for gestational age 76
Small for gestational age 24 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Severe respiratory distress syndrome‡ 42
Term, wk 5 10 15 20 25 30
Severe infection§ 33
Seizures 17 Postterm Age, wk
Patent ductus arteriosus 30
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia 13 Figure 1. Types of normal (N) and abnormal (A) general movements (GMs)
Retinopathy of prematurity (grades 2-5) 17 in 84 high-risk preterm infants during preterm, term, and the first 5 months
of postterm age. F indicates fidgety; PR, poor repertoire; CS, cramped
*Data are given as percentage of subjects unless otherwise indicated. synchronized; and CH, chaotic.
†Acute fetal distress was indicated by late fetal heart deceleration.
‡Severe respiratory distress syndrome was indicated by more than 3 days
of mechanical ventilation. The duration and consistency of GM quality determined
§Severe infections include positive blood culture; positive immature–total
granulocyte ratio and reactive C protein; and 1 or more clinical signs of to a high degree the normality or severity of the abnormal
infection (respiratory distress, hypotension, metabolic acidosis, temperature outcome. All 33 preterm infants who displayed predomi-
instability, gastrointestinal symptoms, diminished activity or lethargy, and nant (19 cases) or consistent (14 cases) cramped synchro-
seizures).
nized character GMs throughout the study period devel-
oped cerebral palsy. None of them displayed fidgety
tional neurological examination, or are they even more movements between 47 to 60 weeks’ postmenstrual age.
powerful? By contrast, 13 infants with consistent normal GMs, 4 in-
fants with transient poor repertoire GMs, 19 infants with
RESULTS consistent poor repertoire GMs, and 4 infants with tran-
sient cramped synchronized GMs had a normal outcome.
NEUROLOGICAL OUTCOME Despite the different patterns of developmental trajec-
tory, these infants had fidgety movements in common (3
At 2 to 3 years of age, 40 infants were healthy, and 44 showed abnormal fidgety movements). The only excep-
had spastic-type cerebral palsy (22 subjects had diple- tion was 1 infant with no fidgety movements who showed
gia, 14 had tetraplegia, and 8 had hemiplegia). Fifteen a prolonged postural delay that disappeared at 3 years of
infants showed grade 1 motor impairment, according to age and was classified as normal (Table 4). Of the pre-
Palisano et al,49 5 infants had grade 2, 5 had grade 3, 9 term infants with consistent poor repertoire GMs (7 cases)
had grade 4, and 10 had grade 5. With the exception of and transient cramped synchronized GMs (4 cases) who
1 infant with a mild hearing defect, no case of minor neu- later developed cerebral palsy, 10 had no fidgety move-
rological disorder was observed. ments, and 1 had exaggerated fidgety movements. The re-
lationship between the age of appearance of predominant
Ultrasound Findings or consistent cramped synchronized GMs and the sever-
ity of the neurological impairment demonstrates that the
Severe ultrasound abnormalities (ie, extensive cysts and earlier the cramped synchronized quality GMs appear, the
germinal matrix–intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3+) worse is the outcome. The Yates trend test (T, 3.207; P ⬍
were present in 31 infants and, with 1 exception, led to .005) proved the statistical significance of this statement.
cerebral palsy. Minor ultrasound abnormalities (persist-
ing increased echogenicity, small and localized cysts, and PREDICTIVE VALUE OF ULTRASOUND
germinal matrix–intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3) SCANS AND GMs
were present in 53 infants. The majority of cases (39 in-
fants) had a normal outcome; cerebral palsy with mild The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve
(7 infants) or moderate to severe (7 infants) impair- analysis for GMs and ultrasound scans were quite large
ment was also observed (Table 2). (97.4 and 88.3, respectively), which shows that they are
both accurate tests. A statistically significant difference
Developmental Trajectories was found between the 2 methods (P=.001). The qual-
ity of GMs was a better index to predict neurological out-
The time course of GM quality in relation to the neuro- come in a group of infants who were selected on the ba-
logical outcome is provided in Table 3 and Figure 2. sis of abnormal ultrasound findings (Figure 3).

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 Table 2. Ultrasound Scan Results and Neurological Outcome in 84 High-Risk Preterm Infants*

Neurological Outcome, No. of Subjects

CP Motor Impairment Grade

Ultrasound Scan Results Normal Subjects 1 2 3 4 5 Total

Persisting increased periventricular echogenicity 28 3 2 0 0 1 34
Small, localized periventricular cysts 7 1 3 0 0 0 11
GMH-IVH grade 3 4 3 0 1 0 0 8
GMH-IVH grade 3+, intraparenchymal echodensity 1 6 0 0 1 0 8
Extensive periventricular and/or subcortical cysts 0 2 0 4 8 9 23
Total 40 15 5 5 9 10 84

*GMH-IVH indicates germinal matrix−intraventricular hemorrhage, graded according to Volpe42; CP, cerebral palsy, graded according to Palisano et al.49

Table 3. Types of Developmental Trajectories and Table 4. Fidgety Movements (FMs) and Neurological
Neurological Outcome in 84 High-Risk Preterm Infants* Outcome in 84 High-Risk Preterm Infants

Neurological Outcome, Neurological Outcome,

No. of Subjects No. of Subjects
Movement Cerebral Palsy Normal Movement Cerebral Palsy Normal
Predominant and consistent CS 33 0 Normal FM 0 36
Consistent PR 7 19 Abnormal FM 1 3
Transient CS 4 4 Absent FM 43 1
Transient PR 0 4 Total 44 40
Normal GM 0 13
Total 44 40

*CS indicates cramped synchronized; PR, poor repertoire; and US GMs AT

GM, general movement.
1.00

Normal Mild Motor Moderate to Severe

Outcome Impairment Motor Impairment
0.75
30
Sensitivity

0.50
25

0.25
No. of Infants

20

15
0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
1-Specificity

10
Figure 3. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve
for quality of general movements (GMs) and ultrasound (US) scans in
high-risk preterm infants. The ROC curve is generated by plotting the
5 proportion of true-positive results against the proportion of false-positive
results for each value of a test. The curve for an arbitrary test (AT) that is
expected to have no discriminatory value appears as a diagonal line, whereas
0 a useful test has an ROC curve that rises rapidly and reaches a plateau.
Consistent N Transient PR Consistent PR Transient CS Predominant CS Consistent CS
Sample 13 4 26 8 19 14
Size
that of neurological examination throughout the age range.
Figure 2. Types of developmental trajectories and neurological outcome in The negative likelihood ratio for predicting cerebral palsy
84 high-risk preterm infants. N indicates normal movements; PR, poor based on GM quality was also much higher than that for
repertoire; and CS, cramped synchronized. neurological examination during the study period.
The GM observation was 100% sensitive through-
LIKELIHOOD RATIO AND ACCURACY OF GMs out the age range; neurological examination was less sen-
AND NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION sitive during the study period. The sensitivity of cramped
IN PREDICTING CEREBRAL PALSY synchronized GMs was low (46.5%) in the preterm pe-
riod because of those infants with cramped synchro-
The positive likelihood ratio of cramped synchronized nized GMs preceded by poor repertoire GMs. Sensitiv-
GMs for predicting cerebral palsy is much higher than ity rose to 65%, 78.7%, and 77.2% at term, early postterm

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 Table 5. Age Period−Related Likelihood Ratios (LRs) and Accuracy for General Movement (GM) Observation,
Cramped Synchronized Character, and Neurological Examination With Respect to Cerebral Palsy*

Age Period

Preterm Term Age Postterm Fidgety

Postmenstrual age, wk 28-37 38-42 43-46 47-60
No. of infants† 83 79 70 84
GM assessment
LR+ (95% CI) 1.5 (1.19-1.89) 1.52 (1.20-1.93) 2.11 (1.48-3.0) 7.8 (3.44-17.78)
LR− (95% CI) ⬍0.07 (0.01-0.48) ⬍0.07 (0.01-0.50) ⬍0.06 (0.01-0.39) ⬍0.02 (0.04-0.18)
Sensitivity, % 100 100 100 100
Specificity, % 38 41 53 82
Positive predictive value, % 63 63 55 86
Negative predictive value, % 100 100 100 100
Cramped synchronized character
LR+ (95% CI) 4.97 (1.57-15.75) 22.4 (3.18-158) ⬎28 (4.02-195.6) ⬎30 (4.3-209)
LR− (95% CI) 0.68 (0.53-0.87) 0.44 (0.30-0.63) 0.25 (0.13-0.46) 0.26 (0.15-0.43)
Sensitivity, % 46 65 79 77
Specificity, % 92 97 100 100
Positive predictive value, % 87 96 100 100
Negative predictive value, % 62 73 84 80
Neurological examination results
LR+ (95% CI) 1.06 (0.81-1.39) 1.71 (1.11-2.61) 1.82 (1.29-2.57) 1.66 (1.26-2.18)
LR− (95% CI) 0.85 (0.42-1.71) 0.51 (0.3-0.87) 0.18 (0.06-0.54) 0.11 (0.03-0.43)
Sensitivity, % 58 68 89 95
Specificity, % 45 63 52 70
Positive predictive value, % 54 66 67 77
Negative predictive value, % 48 65 84 93

*CI indicates confidence interval.

†The total number of infants ranges from 70 through 84 for the different observation periods because GM observation or neurological examination
for 1 of the age periods was missing for some infants.

period, and fidgety age, respectively, because of pre- new. A detailed analysis of the developmental trajecto-
term infants who developed cerebral palsy after tran- ries of GMs in a large group of preterm infants affected
sient cramped synchronized GMs or consistent poor rep- by major or minor abnormalities detected by ultra-
ertoire GMs. Even more striking was the difference in sound demonstrates that the consistent or predominant
specificity when cramped synchronized GMs were com- cramped synchronized character of GMs, irrespective of
pared with neurological examination. The specificity of the severity of the ultrasound abnormalities, is always fol-
the former was extremely high (92.5% to 100%) for all lowed by cerebral palsy.
age ranges; it was invariably much higher than that af- The study has practical and obvious implications.
forded by neurological examination (Table 5). It offers clues about the selection criteria for a strict neu-
rological follow-up. Preterm infants who are waiting for
COMMENT a definite diagnosis of brain integrity are usually en-
rolled in prospective neurological follow-up programs
Two major findings emerge from this study. First, the based on their clinical history and the ultrasound find-
cramped synchronized character of GMs, if consistent in ings rather than a functional assessment, which in-
time or predominant from preterm birth to 5 months’ post- volves the evaluation of mental and motor perfor-
term age, specifically predicts later cerebral palsy. Sec- mance. Recent studies 53-55 have shown that mental
ond, the time of appearance of cramped synchronized GMs retardation and learning deficiencies are common among
predicts the degree of later functional impairment caused preterm infants tested at school age. We are not sure
by cerebral palsy: the earlier the appearance, the more whether normal, or only mildly abnormal, GMs at these
severe the functional impairment. early ages exclude these minor deficiencies at a later age.
Our study also confirmed observations from previ- This study stresses the importance of functional assess-
ous investigations.32,52 Normal fidgety movements fol- ment based on early observations of spontaneous motor
lowing transient abnormalities of GM quality point to a behavior. The normal quality of GMs identifies those in-
normal outcome, absence of fidgety movements sug- fants who are not affected by brain dysfunction and who
gests a neurological deficiency, and GMs are a more pow- will develop normally; they do not need strict neurologi-
erful prognostic tool than traditional neurological ex- cal surveillance. In contrast, prolonged cramped syn-
amination and ultrasound scan.34 chronized character GMs identify infants who are most
The severity and prognostic value of the cramped likely to develop cerebral palsy. They are the ones who
synchronized character of GMs were known from pre- need and can possibly benefit from early intervention.
vious studies.29,32 However, the finding that this motor The first videotape should be recorded as soon as
abnormality is a specific marker of later cerebral palsy is possible after birth, when the effects of analgesia and/or

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 What This Study Adds outpatient clinic at the University of Modena. We also thank
the staff of the neonatal intensive care unit of the Univer-
sity of Pisa, where some of the cases were observed, and Gio-
Cerebral palsy occurs in 8% to 10% of very preterm in- vanni Battista Cavazzuti, MD (Department of Paediatrics,
fants, whereas approximately 40% of all children with University of Modena), and Pietro Pfanner, MD (Depart-
cerebral palsy are born preterm. An early prediction of
ment of Child Neuropsychiatry, Unversity of Pisa), for their
cerebral palsy will lead to earlier rehabilitation pro-
grams. Unfortunately, reliable identification of cerebral continuous support of our research.
palsy in very young infants is extremely difficult.10 It is Corresponding author and reprints: Fabrizio Ferrari,
generally reported that cerebral palsy cannot be diag- MD, Institute of Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine, Uni-
nosed before several months after birth11-15 or even be- versity of Modena, Policlinico Universitario, 41100 Modena,
fore the age of 2 years. In addition, traditional neuro- Italy (e-mail: [email protected]).
logical examination fails to predict the development and
severity of cerebral palsy
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