Anatomy & Physiology: Current Research
Open Access

Abstract

The frequency and distribution of neural tube defects (NTDs) in Arthur Davison Children Hospital (ADCH).

Poster Mutambo

BACKGROUND Neural tube defects (NTDs) are the world’s second most common birth defects after cardiovascular defects. In developing countries like Zambia, these defects are unrecognized and under reported. Despite the administration of folic acid, there has been incidences of NTDs though no local literature points out the frequency of these defects. In order to make informed interventions and programmatic decisions that will achieve significant reductions in patients with NTDs, local studies are needed. There is a need to describe the burden of NTDs and identify gaps in available NTD data. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the frequency and distribution of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) at Arthur Davison Children Hospital (ADCH). METHOD A cross sectional retrospective study was conducted to review medical records of children aged 1 day to 5 years who attended ADCH between 2018 and 2020 w. All children that were attended to during the study period were included in the study provided they meet the inclusion criteria. Data was collected using a data extraction sheet and descriptive analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16. RESULTS A total of 52 patients with NTDs were identified from October 2018 to May 2020 patients’ registers, which constituted the study sample. The sample had more boys 61.5% than girls 38.5% female with the majority 78.8% aged between one day to twenty-eight days. The majority of the children were from Copperbelt province with 88.5%, while the minority were from Muchinga province 1.9%. However the majority of children were from Ndola district 61.5% and the minority from Mpika district 1.9%.The study showed that many children (96.2%) presented with Spinal Bifida (SB) and lastly encephalocele (3.8%). Myelomeningocele was the most common type of SB (21.2%). Hydrocephalus was the most common associated anomaly (19.2%) while the least associated anomaly was Microcephaly (3.8%). CONCLUSION The study showed that the majority of children were from Ndola district on the Copperbelt province and most children were admitted between day one and twenty eight days after birth. SB was the most common type of NTDs, and among these, those with myelomeningocele were the majority. Hydrocephalus was the most common associated impairment with majority of patients not undergoing any surgical interventions. The findings from this record review suggest that management of children with NTDs in Zambia is faced with challenges such as late presentation. This is consistent with literature which indicates that developing countries have higher incidences of children with NTDs and yet are faced with many challenges related to prevention and management.

Published Date: 2021-05-26; Received Date: 2021-05-06