Objective: To report on changes in the incidence of congenital malformations in a context of an ongoing civil conflict.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Centre Médical Evangélique (CME) of Nyankunde, a 250 bed referral hospital, in the North Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the period 1993 to 2001.
Subjects: A total of 8824 babies were delivered alive at our maternity; and 36 of them (0.41%) were born with a clinically diagnosed congenital malformations.
Results: The breakdown of the observed malformations was as follow: clubbed foot nine, congenital hydrocephalus eight, spina bifida six, cleft lip four, encephalocele two, syndactyly two, imperforated anus two, Anencephaly one, lymphangioma one, bladder exstrophy one. There was a significant increase in the annual incidence of congenital malformations (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Ongoing civil conflicts or wars ultimately have a negative impact on the incidence of congenital malformations. This is an indirect and multifactorial consequence. We conclude that ongoing civil conflict is a contributing factor to the increasing incidence of congenital malformations seen in the North-Eastern DRC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v83i2.9395 | DOI Listing |
Hum Brain Mapp
January 2025
Center for MR Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
The human brain connectome is characterized by the duality of highly modular structure and efficient integration, supporting information processing. Newborns with congenital heart disease (CHD), prematurity, or spina bifida aperta (SBA) constitute a population at risk for altered brain development and developmental delay (DD). We hypothesize that, independent of etiology, alterations of connectomic organization reflect neural circuitry impairments in cognitive DD.
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December 2024
Family Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Alexandria, USA.
The VACTERL (vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheoesophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities) association represents an enigmatic syndrome requiring further study. This report describes a full-term neonate born to a multiparous woman who was found, upon further examination, to have multiple congenital abnormalities, including a bicuspid aortic valve, patent foramen ovale, tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), asymmetric crying facies, microphallus, and a single inguinal testis. The discussion explores environmental and genetic factors that may contribute to this association, as well as similar conditions, such as CHARGE (coloboma, heart defects, choanal atresia, growth retardation, genital abnormalities, and ear abnormalities) syndrome.
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December 2024
Neonatology, Souss Massa University Hospital Center, Agadir, MAR.
Hydranencephaly (HE) is a severe and isolated malformation affecting the cerebral mantle. In this condition, the cerebral hemispheres are entirely or almost entirely absent, replaced by a membranous sac filled with cerebrospinal fluid, while the midbrain is usually preserved. Although HE is a relatively rare brain disorder, the differential diagnosis must include conditions such as severe hydrocephalus, porencephalic cysts, and alobar holoprosencephaly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Thorac Surg Short Rep
September 2023
Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Background: Retroaortic innominate vein (RAIV) is an extremely rare anomaly of systemic venous return. The prevalence of RAIV has been estimated to be 0.02% in individuals without congenital heart disease and 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Family Med Prim Care
December 2024
Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare congenital disease that has two different types, KS1 and KS2, with variant in epigenetic gene KMT2D and KDM6A, respectively. It is associated with multiple abnormalities such as (developmental delay, atypical facial features, cardiac anomalies, minor skeleton anomalies, genitourinary anomalies, and mild to moderate intellectual disability). This syndrome can lead to neonatal hypoglycemia that results from hyperinsulinemia and electrolyte abnormalities.
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