Publication

Abstract : Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to healthcare systems globally which are struggling to provide optimal care to patients with or without COVID-19. Rerouting of resources for COVID-19, widespread impositions on public movement, and fear of COVID-19 have resulted in significant disruption of routine essential health services. Routine immunization and follow-up visits of high-risk neonates and infants for early identification of developmental delay and early intervention have also been impacted. Early diagnosis and intervention are known to positively influence the neurodevelopmental outcome in high-risk neonates and infants [1]. The majority of these high-risk infants eventually evolve to have cerebral palsy (CP) which is an umbrella term to accommodate any type of static neuromotor impairment. The validated tools for early diagnosis of CP include the Hammersmith Infant Neurological examination, magnetic resonance imaging, and general movement assessment (GMA); one of the best being GMA with a sensitivity and specificity of up to 95% [1]. The identification of abnormal general movement patterns including; poor repertoire and cramped synchronized movements on the GMA when conducted longitudinally can direct initiation of intensive early intervention measures [2, 3]. The utility of GMA has been highlighted during the current COVID-19 pandemic where physical visits and face to face consultations are quite difficult. GMA is less time-consuming, doesn’t require costly equipment, and offers a unique advantage of prediction of neurodevelopmental outcome from video recordings without the child being physically present. We would like to share our experience in this regard.