Cerebral palsy (CP) is most common severe neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting 2-3/1000 live borns. Postneonatal cerebral palsy is a rare and distinct form of CP in which damage to immature brain occurs after the newborn period until the age of 24 months. Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE) is European project encompassing 26 currently active centers from 21 European countries. Common database of children with CP is one of the main assets, providing better insight even in the rare CP types.

Croatian SCPE register is enrolled since 2012 as „C28 RCP-HR Register of cerebral palsy of Croatia’, and is affiliated to Children’s Hospital Zagreb. Object of this study is to address children with postneonatal origin of CP in our national Register and the main causes of this rare CP.

This population-based study included 502 children from C28 RCP-HR born 2003-2009, living at the area of Register at point of registration, with postneonatal cause of cerebral palsy. Patients were stratified according to the timing and origin of the lesion.

Out of total of 502 children with CP (total CP prevalence 2.11/1000), 11 had postneonatal origin, presenting 2.19% of total CP population or 0.46/10000 live borns. Most common causes were vascular episodes (5/11) and infection of central nervous system (3/11), while others, including the head trauma, accounted for one case respectively. Most usual time of onset was during first trimester (6/11), while timing in other five children was distributed quite equally until the age of two years of life.

Postneonatal cerebral palsy is rare and possibly unrecognised form of cerebral palsy, in our Register, as well as common SCPE register (proportion of 7.69% of total CP population; prevalence of 1.26/10000). Recognition of this state is important since it is partly preventable, epidemiologically relevant in large scale studies, but most importantly, on individual level, for planning and establishing the special care each CP patient should have.