OBJECTIVE: To determine the prospects for independent functioning in society of children born with meningomyelocele who are receiving maximal treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive. SETTING: University Hospital Groningen, the Netherlands. METHODS: Data were collected in 1994 regarding personal care, mobility, education, living conditions and employment of 163 patients alive and born in 1966-1990. They were divided into three groups according to their age, corresponding to the primary school period (n = 47), secondary school period (n = 37) and subsequent education or employment period (n = 79). All data were related to the level of the neurological lesion. RESULTS: A higher level of the neurological deficit corresponded with a lower probability of functioning independently in society. This was mainly caused by the concomitant mental handicap that occurs frequently in children with a high neurological deficit. Nine out of 46 adult patients with a deficit higher than LIII were living independently. Eleven of these 46 patients were (or had been) capable of attending regular education, and 7 of these 11 patients had a regular job. CONCLUSION: The prospects of children born with a meningomyelocele of reaching independence are relatively poor, depending on the level of neurological deficit.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prospects for independent functioning in society of children born with meningomyelocele who are receiving maximal treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive. SETTING: University Hospital Groningen, the Netherlands. METHODS: Data were collected in 1994 regarding personal care, mobility, education, living conditions and employment of 163 patients alive and born in 1966-1990. They were divided into three groups according to their age, corresponding to the primary school period (n = 47), secondary school period (n = 37) and subsequent education or employment period (n = 79). All data were related to the level of the neurological lesion. RESULTS: A higher level of the neurological deficit corresponded with a lower probability of functioning independently in society. This was mainly caused by the concomitant mental handicap that occurs frequently in children with a high neurological deficit. Nine out of 46 adult patients with a deficit higher than LIII were living independently. Eleven of these 46 patients were (or had been) capable of attending regular education, and 7 of these 11 patients had a regular job. CONCLUSION: The prospects of children born with a meningomyelocele of reaching independence are relatively poor, depending on the level of neurological deficit.