Cleft lip/palate: incidence of prenatal diagnosis in Glasgow, Scotland, and comparison with other centers in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate diagnosed prenatally between 1999 and 2008 in those referred for treatment to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Scotland (RHSC); and to compare the percentage prenatally diagnosed in 2008 versus other cleft treatment centers in the U.K.

Method: A retrospective study was performed using medical records of the 459 cleft patients born and referred to RHSC between 1999 and 2008. Comparable data for year 2008 were requested from other U.K. units.

Results: For the period studied, the percentage of all clefts diagnosed prenatally was 15%. This rose to 28% when only the cases of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL ± P) were considered. An increase was seen in prenatal detection of CL ± P from 11% in 1999 to 50% in 2008 (p = .011). Two of the six U.K. units that responded had a significantly higher percentage of CL ± P cases diagnosed prenatally compared with RHSC in 2008 (p < .05).

Conclusions: The percentage of CL ± P cases diagnosed prenatally in this study is consistent with the literature and increased between 1999 and 2008. Routine ultrasound anomaly scanning is shown to significantly improve detection rates compared with scanning of high-risk pregnancies only. Cases of CL ± P where the alveolus or the palate is involved have significantly higher detection rates than those involving only the lip.