Screening for congenital fetal anomalies in low risk pregnancy: the Kenyatta National Hospital experience
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Date
2018Author
Onyambu, Callen K
Tharamba, Norah M
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
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Background:
Congenital malformations contribute significantly to the disease burden among children globally. A
study conducted in Kenya on understanding the burden of surgical congenital anomalies, highlights the need for
Kenyan health systems to go beyond the medical dimensions of illness. This could be achieved by linking knowledge
of the severe congenital anomalies (CAs) and their impact of varying disability to the delivery of local health services
and public health program planning. Subsequently, early detection of these congenital anomalies is vital and can be
achieved through fetal ultrasonography.
Studies have proven that antenatal ultrasound can successfully diagnose fetal abnormalities in many cases and
therefore aid in counseling of parents and planning for early intervention.
Although there are studies on screening of congenital anomalies in various populations, very few have been done in
the African population and none to the best of our knowledge has been done in Kenya.
Methods:
The patients, who underwent routine obstetric ultrasounds, were recruited into the study. The study
population comprised patients who were referred from the obstetric clinic, casualty and other clinics within the
hospital vicinity. Data of antenatal ultrasounds was statistically analyzed on structured data collection form to
determine the prevalence of congenital anomalies.
Results:
Fifteen fetal anomalies were diagnosed in 500 women who came for routine ultrasound (3%). The mean age
of the mothers was 28.2 years (SD ± 4.5) with an age range from 15 to 44 years. 400 (80%) of the mothers were aged
between 27 and 34 years.
The most frequently observed fetal anomalies involved the head (8/ 500; 1.6%). Each of the remaining anomalies
affected less than 1% of the fetuses and included anomalies of the spine (2/ 500; 0.4%), pulmonary (2/ 500; 0.4%), renal
and urinary tract (2/ 500; 0.4%) and skeletal systems (2/ 500; 0.4%). Majority, 9 of 15 (60%) of the fetuses with anomalies
detected on prenatal ultrasound resulted in postnatal mortality within days of delivery.
Conclusion:
Congenital anomalies prevalence in our setting compares with those found in other studies. From this
study, major birth defects are a major cause of perinatal mortality.
URI
https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-018-1824-zhttps://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12884-018-1824-z
http://hdl.handle.net/11295/103475
Citation
Onyambu, Callen Kwamboka, and Norah Mukiri Tharamba. "Screening for congenital fetal anomalies in low risk pregnancy: the Kenyatta National Hospital experience." BMC pregnancy and childbirth 18.1 (2018): 180.Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10387]
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