Viruses (Sep 2022)

Characterizing Disabilities in Preschool Aged Children with Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome with the ICF Model

  • Laura Cristina Machado Ribeiro de Souza,
  • Carla Trevisan Martins Ribeiro,
  • Tatiana Hamanaka,
  • Luciana Castaneda Ribeiro,
  • Nathália Crsitina Oliveira de Souza,
  • Sheila Moura Pone,
  • Karin Nielsen-Saines,
  • Elizabeth B. Brickley,
  • Maria Elisabeth Lopes Moreira,
  • Marcos Vinicius da Silva Pone

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v14102108
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 10
p. 2108

Abstract

Read online

Understanding functioning and disabilities in children with Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is essential for health planning. We describe disabilities present in children with CZS followed in a reference hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, based on the biopsychosocial model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This was a cohort study of children >3 years of age with CZS. Disability was characterized through outcomes related to ICF components assessed via clinical and motor development evaluations. Among 50 children, with a median age of 40 months, 47 (94%) presented with severe impairment and 46 (92%) had microcephaly. Damage to the head and neck was found in most children, with abnormal central nervous system imaging universally present. Most children had cognitive impairment (92%), muscle tone problems (90%), and speech deficits (94%). We found movement limitations in all categories but more pervasively (80–94%), in postural transfers and displacements. The main environmental factors identified in the ICF model were the use of products or substances for personal consumption and access to health services. Children with CZS have extremely high rates of disability beyond aged 3 years, particularly regarding motor activity. ICF-based models can contribute to the assessment of health domains.

Keywords