OBJECTIVE: To evaluate pulmonary function in children with myelomeningocele (MMC) of different functional levels of injuries. SUTDY DESIGN: It was a case-control study, which enrolled one child with myelomeningocele by level of injury and control of health children matched for age and sex. METHODS: Anthropometric and spirometric measures were obtained from both groups. Results: All of children with MMC showed reduced nutritional state according OMS parameters. We observed the presence of mild restrictive ventilatory disturbance in the children with injuries on thoracic (FVC =0.65 %pred) and lumbar-high level (forced vital capacity - FVC = 0.69 %pred), and although with normal limits, children with MMC with lower levels of injury presented lower spirometric values than their respective controls. There was a perfect negative correlation between forced vital capacity and level of functional lesions. CONCLUSION: Children with MMC presented reduced ung function values when compared to healthy controls, especially those with high levels of functional injury, which showed restrictive ventilatory disturbance. Respiratory therapy should be incorporated in the assessment and in the follow up of children with MMC, as adjunct to neuromotor therapy, especially those with higher levels of injury.
Myelomeningocele; Assessment methods; Spirometry; Neuromuscular manifestations; Respiratory therapy
