Outpatient Physical Therapy for a Toddler with Down

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Outpatient Physical Therapy for a Toddler with Down OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR A TODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME PRESENTING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS A Doctoral Project A Comprehensive Case Analysis Presented to the faculty of the Department of Physical Therapy California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY by Sarah E. Christiansen SUMMER 2015 © 2015 Sarah E. Christiansen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR A TODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME PRESENTING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS A Doctoral Project by Sarah E. Christiansen Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Katrin Mattern-Baxter __________________________________, First Reader Dr. Bryan Coleman-Salgado __________________________________, Second Reader Dr. Edward Barakatt ____________________________ Date iii Student: Sarah E. Christiansen I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. ___________________________, Department Chair ____________ Dr. Edward Barakatt Date Department of Physical Therapy iv Abstract of OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR A TODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME PRESENTING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS by Sarah E. Christiansen A pediatric patient with Down Syndrome was seen for outpatient physical therapy treatment provided by a student for ten sessions from February to June 2014 at a university setting under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. The patient was evaluated at the initial encounter with Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-2 and Gross Motor Function Measurement-88 and a plan of care was established. Main goals for the patient were to improve developmental motor functions through increasing functional strength, gait endurance and speed, improving balance, and independent ambulation of stairs. Main interventions used were task-specific, family-centered, and high-intensity approaches. The patient achieved the following goals of increased functional strength, gait endurance and speed, improved balance, v and independent ambulation of stairs. The patient was discharged home to prior living arrangement with mother as primary caregiver. _______________________, Committee Chair Dr. Katrin Mattern-Baxter _______________________ Date vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family, friends, and the faculty of Sacramento State’s Doctoral of Physical Therapy Program who have helped me throughout the years, giving me support and guidance as I have grown personally and professionally. I would like to especially thank my advisor Dr. Katrin Mattern-Baxter for her guidance throughout the program and mentorship during this project. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .............................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1. GENERAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................ 1 2. CASE BACKGROUND DATA ............................................................................ 3 3. EXAMINATION – TESTS AND MEASURES ................................................... 7 4. EVALUATION .................................................................................................... 17 5. PLAN OF CARE – GOALS AND INTERVENTIONS ...................................... 19 6. OUTCOMES ........................................................................................................ 32 7. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................... 36 References .................................................................................................................. 39 viii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Medications………………………………………….……………………………. 6 2. Examination Data………………………………………..………………………. 15 3. Evaluation and Plan of Care………….………….………………………………. 19 4. Outcomes……………………………….………………..………………………. 32 ix 1 Chapter 1 General Background Down Syndrome (DS) is a common chromosomal developmental condition occurring in 6,000 infants, with 1 in 732 infants born in the United States each year.1,2 Down Syndrome is caused by the development of an extra chromosome, resulting in 46 chromosomes. The extra chromosome, typically chromosome 21, also referred to as trisomy, causes the infant’s body and brain to develop abnormally.3 Cytogenetic testing has allowed scientists to further discover the types of chromosome errors that occur: standard trisomsy 21 (most commonly accounting for 95% of DS diagnoses), translocations (accounting for 3% of DS diagnoses), and mosaicism (accounting for 2% of DS diagnoses).2,4 The exact cause for the defect of chromosome 21 failing to split is unknown; it is not due to inheritance and it occurs at random during the formation of reproductive cells.3,5 A majority of research has looked into the maternal nondisjunction errors that lead to trisomy 21 occurrence.2 One of the largest studies that categorized the nondisjunctional errors in DS is the National Down Syndrome Project. The results from the study have broken down the origin (maternal and paternal) and type of error (meiosis I/II and mitotic) of the extra chromosome 21 based on biological samples: 93.2% of cases from maternal germ cells (oocyte) have chromosome nondisjunction errors occur during meiosis. Of the total meiosis cases of maternal origin, 72.6% occurred during meiosis I. Paternal chromosome nondisjunction errors during meiosis in sperm accounted for 4.1%, however paternal 2 results were limited to a small sample size of 32 biological samples that were received from fathers. Mitotic error was reported at 2.7%.6 Researchers have shown that as a women advances in age and is older than 35 years prior to conceiving a child, there is an increase risk for the child to develop DS. However, the majority of births occur in women under 35 years of age, resulting in ~80% of infants with DS born to younger mothers.7 Down Syndrome is medically diagnosed in a variety of ways. Blood tests and ultrasounds can be performed prenatally for screening. Diagnostic testing for DS is confirmed through amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, and percutaneous umbilical blood sampling. After birth, DS is diagnosed through physical signs and confirmed with a blood test.8 Common physical characteristics for DS include a flattened face, almond-shaped eyes slanting up, small ears, short neck, a large furrowed tongue, small hands and feet, poor muscle tone, ligamentous laxity, and short height, among other features.3 Risk factors for development of DS mainly include an increase in maternal age as well as chromosome nondisjunction error.2,3 Researchers have shown that there is a higher prevalence of DS among persons of Hispanic race/ethnicity and in individuals of low social economic status.2,6,9 A study of medical conditions in 208 children with DS showed that 45.7 % had cardiac conditions (including patent foramen ovale), 59.1% had ear or hearing related conditions, 67.3% had eye or visual related conditions, and 60% had respiratory related conditions with asthma accounting for 10 20.2%. 3 Chapter 2 Case Background Data Examination – History The patient who participated in this case study was a 35-month-old male who was diagnosed with DS at birth and presented with developmental delays. The patient was recruited from a treadmill training program. His mother agreed to the case study for physical therapy, with a self-referral, to improve her son’s development. The patient’s previous medical history was reported by his mother, which included having a normal pregnancy and birth. Past medical history included patent foramen ovale, chronic congestion, asthma, myopia, strabismus of left eye and slight auditory deficits. The mother was unable to provide medical documentation for any of the aforementioned conditions. His mother reported that hearing aids did not help and that the child only wore his glasses for an average of 5 minutes at a time for his myopia. He had surgery in January 2013 for bilateral tube insertions into his ears; the mother reported that the surgery would likely need to be repeated this year. The patient was followed by a team of physicians including a pediatrician, cardiologist, optometrist, and otolaryngologist for his medical care during the course of the treatment period. The patient’s pediatrician was aware of the patient’s involvement in this case study and noted no precautions or contraindications to physical therapy. The patient was the second child in the family and had a healthy older brother. The mother was 33 years old when he was born. The patient had demonstrated 4 significant delay in developmental milestones compared to his peers. The patient had started walking independently within the last 3 months. His mother reported that her chief complaints were that he continued to present with deficits in balance, strength, and inability to ascend/descend stairs. The patient lived with his mother, father and older brother in a single story house with one entry step into the home from the front entrance, garage, and backyard. His mother reported that he was able to play and move freely throughout the home without difficultly, which was apparent during a home visit. The patient demonstrated no difficulty ambulating around the house and initiating play in various rooms when toys were within reach. The patient was being potty trained, slept in a crib, and used a car seat in which he required
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