TITLE:
Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Malformations in Douala General Hospital
AUTHORS:
Tchente Nguefack Charlotte, Nzesseu Djomo Aurore, Brulet Charlotte, Barla Esther, Belley Priso Eugene
KEYWORDS:
Birth Defects, Prevalence, Antenatal Diagnosis, Outcome, Douala Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.5 No.15,
December
14,
2015
ABSTRACT: To determine the
prevalence of congenital malformations and the proportion of cases diagnosed
before birth; to specify this proportion according to the type of malformation
and the sonographer qualification. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out at the
Douala General Hospital in the obstetric and neonatal units over a period of 42
months, from January 2008 to June 2012. The procedure consisted of; firstly an
explanation of the study purpose with consent of parents obtained, thereafter,
the parents were interviewed and data extracted from their files. The new born
had a complete clinical exam. Morphological and biological assessment were done
to ascertain diagnosis if needed. They were then followed up for 48 hours. Data
were analysed using SPSS. Statistical analyses were mainly descriptive: mean,
median, mode and frequency were calculated. Results: During this period, 6048
neonates were examined, 99 of whom had a malformation giving a prevalence of
1.64%. Musculoskeletal defects were the most common (36.4%), followed by
digestive tract defects (22.2%). Ultrasounds were carried out mainly
in the second term. Among the malformed babies, only 16.2% were diagnosed
during the prenatal period. The obstetricians did better than radiologist in
the prenatal diagnosis of congenital malformations. All the urinary tract
malformations and 33.3% of the polymalformations were diagnosed by prenatal
echography. Among the malformed babies, 33% died within the first 48 hours of
life and poly-malformed
babies were more concerned (66.7%). Conclusion: The prevalence of congenital
birth defect was 1.64%. The rate of prenatal diagnosis remained low, meanwhile
one third of the affected babies die after births. An early diagnosis would
anticipate on medical care at birth and allow therapeutics abortions when
indicated.