Incidence of Cleft Deformities among Neonates in Mulago National Referral hospital, Uganda

Background: Cleft deformities (lip and palate) have been reported to be the most common congenital craniofacial anomaly in several settings. In Uganda, though two previous studies were conducted to determine the incidence of cleft lip and palate, the estimates obtained from those studies may not be precise given the study settings. This study was undertaken to establish the incidence of cleft deformities and provide data to plan for better management of these deformities. The Setting was the labour wards at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala Uganda. The main objective of this study was to determine the incidence of cleft deformities (lip and palate) among neonates born between February 2008 and February 2009
Methods: Cross-sectional study of all neonates who were born in Mulago Hospital. We examined all new born children and determined the presence or absence of cleft lip and/palate. Socio-demographic data and risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, infections and exposure to drugs such as anti-convulsants and steroids were collected.
Results: Among twelve thousands seven hundred and thirteen neonates born in Mulago hospital between February 2008 and February 2009, seventeen neonates presented with cleft lip with or without cleft palate: this gives an incidence of 1.34 per 1000 newborns or 134 in 100,000 newborns.
Conclusion: The incidence of neonatal cleft deformities seems to lie between what was previously reported in 1961 and 1996 in Uganda.