Life expectancy for children with cerebral palsy and mental retardation: Implications for life care planning

Objectives: Physicians may be asked by attorneys or other patient advocates to help plan for the long-term needs of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental disability (DD). The first step in such planning is to thoroughly examine the literature dealing with life expectancy in these populations. This review paper comprehensively reviews the literature relating to survival in children with cerebral palsy and developmental disability. Study Selection: A Medline data search was completed using the terms cerebral palsy, life expectancy, survival, as well as other pertinent terms. Further articles were gleaned from bibliographies of pertinent literature. Data Synthesis: Certain key disabilities can be used to accurately predict life expectancy in children with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. These include: (1) presence and severity of mental retardation, (2) inability to speak intelligible words, (3) inability to recognize voices, (4) inability to interact with peers, (4) severity of physical disability, (5) use of tube feeding, (6) incontinence, and (7) presence and severity of seizures. Conclusions: Literature review definitively shows that children with CP and DD have a diminished life expectancy, which can be assessed based on simple clinical examination findings.