Parent-Reported PEDI-CAT Mobility and Gross Motor Function in Infants With Cerebral Palsy.
Kimberley Scott, Jessica Lewis, Xueliang Pan and 1 others
PMID 34086623WHAT IT FOUND
Parents reported their infants' daily mobility accurately.
Scores matched therapist assessments closely, even for babies with severe motor impairments. This allows PTs to use a short parent questionnaire to capture typical daily function without a lengthy clinic evaluation.
Key findings
01Parent-reported mobility scores showed a strong, significant correlation with therapist-administered gross motor assessments.
02Parent-reported mobility scores were significantly lower for infants with more severe motor impairments, distinguishing between GMFCS levels III and IV, and III and V.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size for infants with the most severe impairments (GMFCS level V) was small, leading to wider variability in scores for this group. The study only examined the relationship between two assessment tools at a single time point. It did not measure how these scores changed in response to intervention. GMFCS levels are less stable in infants under two years old, meaning some participants might be reclassified later, though this is unlikely to affect the concurrent validity of the measures. The sample was drawn from a specific institutional setting and may not represent all infants with cerebral palsy.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by NIH extramural funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the PEDI-mob can replace the GMFM-88 for tracking change over time. This study showed the two tools agree on a child's current status, but it did not test whether the parent report is sensitive enough to detect improvement after therapy.